When Things Get Complicated
by Camouflage
Summary: Sidney Reynolds, new to Gotham City, and Camryn Griffin become friends as their lives become intertwined in a tangled web dramatically deadly events. A heart can't help loving someone, no matter how dangerous they might be. BruceXOC, Joker/Harvey/CraneXOC
1. Wheels Start Turning

It seemed to Sidney that she had been on the train forever. She had gotten off the plane from Los Angeles about an hour ago, but she guessed it was her fault for taking the local service train instead of the express.

No matter, she could see the skyline of Gotham City in her window, and she was now starting to get antsy. Her flight from LA had been a little rushed, and so she had had no way to try and get in contact with Harvey Dent, the only person she knew who lived in the city, but she figured it wouldn't be that hard to find him. Last thing she heard, he was the District Attorney. People in that position don't exactly keep a low profile, especially in a place like Gotham.

Finding Harvey wouldn't be a problem, and she was sure that he would be willing to give her a place to crash until she got on her feet. Sidney wasn't exactly sure how she was going to do that, but she would cross that bridge when she came to it. For now she would be just fine avoiding death.

She shuddered when she thought about the reasons for which she had left LA. If there was anything she learned from this was that it definitely wasn't a good idea to borrow money from mobsters if you didn't actually have any intent to pay them back. But it didn't matter, they wouldn't follow her here. The only people who weren't afraid to be in Gotham City were those who had lived there all their lives and those who were desperate.

And she was definitely desperate. She couldn't just lay low in LA. Her dark red hair, big gray eyes, full lips, and light smattering of freckles made her instantly recognizable to anyone she saw in the street. Far too pretty for just laying low, and in no way interested in changing her appearance, she decided to completely relocate. At the moment, Gotham City was the safest place for her to be.

"How ironic …" she trailed off to herself. After all, you knew your life had taken a bad turn when the safest place for you was one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

At least, she hoped it would be. If Harvey didn't let her stay with him, then she would be essentially out on the streets, but she was confident that wouldn't happen. She hadn't seen Harvey in _years … _about ten to be more specific, but they were old friends, and last time she checked Harvey wasn't the type to throw a friend into the gutter.

Sidney silently hoped that Harvey hadn't changed too drastically since last time she had seen him and started reviewing her story in her head.

--------------

"Ugh …" Camryn Griffin was frustrated, and her feet were starting to hurt. As a recent graduate of Gotham University, the jobs open to her in the field she wished to pursue were limited. In fact, there was only one job for her at the moment, and that was intern. Being an intern meant that she was to do what she was told whenever she was told to do it, and her task at the moment was to get coffee for everyone back at the magazine.

Her job mandated that she look her best at all times, and she always did. With skin like the color of the creamy coffee she as carrying, she could pull off any color, and standing at about 5'10" with a thin frame, she could wear any shape. She could _even_ get away without the four-inch heels she was wearing, but they seemed like such a great idea that morning with her navy leggings and yellow mini dress. The shoes had cost her about eight hundred dollars that she didn't have, damned if she wasn't going to wear them. Though she had gotten many compliments on the Louboutins, they were not exactly great walking attire.

But the compliments made it worth it. When you worked at a fashion magazine, part of the job was making people wish they had dressed like you when they got up in the morning. And besides, she could get her latest sugar daddy to give her the money for the shoes. Of course, there would be a price for that, but they were well worth it.

"There she is!" the receptionist exclaimed when Camryn burst through the door with her two trays. "God, we thought you would never get back." Camryn only smiled. This was how interns were treated, sort of like an initiation. In this world, you had to pay your dues. "You can just bring those up to the conference room and then you're free to go."

"Thanks, Leah," Camryn chirped as she continued to the elevator.

"Love your shoes!" Leah called after her as the doors closed. Camryn smiled to herself and leaned against the back wall of the elevator. Sure, her feet were hurting, but she couldn't be happier.

-----------------------

After what seemed like forever, Sidney stepped off the train at Gotham Station. It was incredibly busy, and as she glanced at the clock hanging over the terminal, she could see why. It was about 5:30, and that meant that it was time for everyone to head home. Those who did not live in the city were getting out as fast as they could; they didn't want to be around when darkness fell.

Sidney, hiking her purse higher on one shoulder and adjusting the grip on the duffle bag in her hand, made her way to the nearest phone booth.

"All right, Harvey … come out, come out, wherever you are …" She took off her oversize sunglasses so that she could see the pages better. After flipping through the Ds for a moment, she immediately came to what she was looking for. It wasn't Harvey's personal number, but it was the number for his office. Hoping that he would still be there, she dialed the number.

It rang twice.

"District Attorney's office," a female voice cooed from the other end of the line.

"Hey," Sidney drawled lazily, "I'm looking for Harvey Dent. Is there any way I could speak to him?"

"Name, please?" The lady asked.

"Sidney Reynolds," Sidney answered quickly as she leaned against the glass wall of the booth.

"Just a moment, please." And then she was put on hold. Sidney idly twirled the phone cord around her index finger, silently daring Harvey to not speak to her. Much to her delight, she didn't have to wait long to hear him greet her.

"I've got to say you were one of the last people I expected to call me," were the first words he said. "How can I help you?"

"Oh, it's wonderful to speak to you, too," said Sidney dryly. Harvey knew better than to respond to that, and she of course continued speaking. "I'm in Gotham City and I need a place to stay." There it was. Sidney wasn't really one to beat around the bush.

"What are you here for?" He asked, sounding more than a little curious.

"It's a little bit of a story," said Sidney, "and I don't think I have enough quarters to tell you the whole thing."

"OK, well, I'm leaving the office now," Harvey began. Now that he mentioned it, she did hear shuffling sounds as if he was packing up. "So, why don't you catch a cab, tell the driver to go to 4972 East 54th street, and I'll be waiting for you. We'll go to my apartment." Sidney stated that she would do just that and then hung up the phone.

Easy as pie.

After leaving the phone booth, Sidney hailed a cab and gave the driver the address. Having completed her task, she settled into the seat and took a deep breath. Harvey was a lawyer, therefore he knew what questions to ask, and she wanted to make sure that her story was flawless. Of course, she could have just told him the truth, but she doubted that he would let her stay in his apartment after telling him that there was a price on her head.

Her boyfriend, who had a lot of connections on the LA drug scene, had beaten her brutally one night. In revenge, Sidney had 'accidentally' started a fire in his apartment, destroying not only his home, but all of the products inside – an amount equaling about half a million dollars. The police had questioned her, but she had been careful and there was no evidence to prove she did it. Her boyfriend, of course, knew otherwise, and promised to kill her. Scared for her life, Sidney fled to the last place that she thought he would follow her.

Simple enough, not many places you could go wrong with that, and she was pretty sure that Harvey wouldn't go looking up fires in LA. He would believe her because they were friends.

The ride from the train station to Harvey's office was quite short. Sidney spent the majority of it staring out the window. Having lived in LA for quite a few years, she was used to big cities, but this one definitely had a different atmosphere. It was dirty – grittier and much darker than LA. The people walked differently, as if they were in constant fear that the sky was about to fall on their heads.

Like he promised, he was waiting just inside the door. Before walking out of it, he turned around to say something to someone and then pushed the door open. Sidney took this moment to observe that he really hadn't changed too much. Of course he looked older, and the lean muscles of his youth had gotten a bit more bulk, but other than that he was still Harvey Dent.

"There he is," said Sidney as he opened the door.

"Hey!" He exclaimed as he put his briefcase on the floor of the cab and leaned over to give Sidney a hug, which she returned. Having gotten this out of the way, though, Harvey got down to business. "So why have you shown up in Gotham City completely out of the blue?"

"God, you get right down to it, don't you?" Sidney asked right before Harvey gave his home address to the driver. "Well, since you're so curious. I'm running."

"From what?"

"My boyfriend," Sidney began her lie, "or rather my ex-boyfriend …" and then she went on to tell the story she had so carefully devised in her head, giving as many details as she possibly could, knowing that if she didn't, Harvey would ask questions pertaining to those missing details.

Sidney was still telling her story as the Harvey paid the cab driver and they started walking into his building with Harvey carrying her duffle bag. "…So, I got on the first flight, took a train from the airport to here, and here I am."

"Wow …" Harvey trailed off as he pressed the up button on the elevator. "Seems like a lot of things have changed in ten years. You used to be such a goody-goody, and now here you are all mixed up with drug dealers."

_You don't know the half of it …_ Sidney thought to herself as they stepped into the elevator and Harvey pressed a button labeled 7. It was the highest floor of the building. "So, yeah … I just need a place to stay until I can get myself on my feet … find a job, all that." Sidney neglected to say that she wasn't really capable of any sort of professional job; or rather she just didn't have a degree to certify that she was. However, she had never really had a problem making money, and had no qualms about working.

"You can stay here as long as you like," Harvey assured her as they stepped out of the elevator and to one of the two doors in the hallway. Harvey walked to the one on the left, slid a key into the lock, turned, and they were in.

The living room was spacious, done in tasteful shades of ivory and brown. There was a fireplace on one wall with a plasma TV hanging over it. There was a couch that was brown with ivory pillows on it, and Sidney assumed that this was where she was going to be sleeping.

"The guest bedroom is down the hall and to the left," said Harvey as he put her duffel bag down on the floor. "And the entrance to the guest bathroom is in the bedroom. You can make yourself at home and freshen up if you want." Sidney gave him a look. "Not that I'm implying that you need to. You look great, by the way, especially for someone who's just been on a plane and a train for a good … what … seven hours?"

"About that," Sidney responded, pleased with this correction. She had done her best to make sure she looked nice. Ever since she was ten and he was sixteen she had the biggest crush on him ever. Unfortunately, then the only thing she could be to him was something of a younger sister. However, the difference between twenty-eight and twenty-two is much less than the one between sixteen and ten.

She picked up her bag and lugged it to the guest bedroom. As soon as she had thrown it on her bed, Harvey was in her doorway. He had taken off the jacket of his suit and his tie, and he had unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt. Looking very relaxed, he leaned against the door jamb.

"It's good to see you again," he said to her, "I have to confess that I never thought I would after you moved out to LA."

"It's nice to see you, too, Harvey," she said to him. Before she had moved, she and Harvey had lived in a suburb of Gotham about twenty-five minutes away from the city. But, when her parents died at the age of twelve, she had no choice but to move out to California to be taken care of by the only family she had left, her aunt and uncle. They had no children of their own so they were happy to have Sidney, and she was happy to be away from all the painful memories, so she didn't really have a reason to come back once she was old enough. "It's been a long time."

"Too long," he agreed, "so, do you plan on staying long, or do you want to head back to LA once this mess has had some time to blow over?"

"Oh, I'm here to stay," she answered as she started pulling her clothes out and putting them into the drawers across from the bed. "My ex isn't one to forget, and neither are his friends. As far as I know, they'll be too scared to come here. All everyone gets on the West Coast is horror stories about this city. He'll stay where he is and I'll stay where I am and everything will be just peachy."

"I'm glad," said Harvey. He entered the room and sat on the bed. "So … do you need any sort of help looking for a job?" He asked. "I'm the DA, after all, I've got connections."

"Unfortunately I'm not really qualified for much," she answered. "I waited tables back in LA."

"I see," Harvey said, nodding. "Well, we're in Gotham City, there are tons of fine dining restaurants where I'm sure the servers make great tips. Would you like me to see what I can do?"

"So eager to get me out of here?" Sidney asked playfully.

"No! It's not that," Harvey assured her, "I'm just trying to help. Like I said, you can stay here until you feel like you have enough money to move out. It's not really a cheap city to live in, and I'm sure you don't want to live in the slums. You'll need to save some money. Take your time, no one uses this room."

Sidney was glad of that. When she entered the apartment, she had immediately started looking for traces of a female presence, and was relieved when she saw none. Of course, she hadn't been into his bedroom or bathroom, yet, but she figured it would hardly be polite to just storm into his private space and start snooping around.

That's when the door opened, though, and a female voice came from the living room.

"Harvey?" An annoyingly scratchy voice came from the direction of the front door. "Are you here?" Harvey immediately stood up and left the room. Sidney followed suit, curious to see who was there.

She walked out of her room just in time to see Harvey plant a kiss on the lips of a rather plain looking woman. Upon seeing her face, Sidney concluded that she looked something like a pig.

Upon seeing _Sidney_, Rachel Dawes' reaction was slightly different. Her first thought was wondering what this young, impossibly attractive girl could possibly be doing at her boyfriend's apartment. "I stopped by the office but you were already gone. Who's this?"

"This is Sidney," said Harvey as he broke off from Rachel's embrace and dragged Sidney forward. "She's an old friend, she just got here from LA and needs a place to stay until she can get one of her own.

"Nice to meet you," Sidney said sweetly as she held out her hand to Rachel. "And you are …?"

"Rachel," she answered, seeming rather annoyed that she had to conduct this introduction herself, "I'm Harvey's girlfriend."

"Lucky girl," Sidney said, her open smile changing to a wolfish grin. She winked and then turned on her heel. "I'm going to finish unpacking."

"Are you hungry?" Harvey said to Sidney's retreating back.

"Starving!" She answered.

"Well, Rachel and I were going to go out to dinner tonight," he stated, "you're welcome to join us."

"Really?" Sidney asked as she stopped before entering her bedroom. "I wouldn't want to invade-"

"I don't want to hear about it," said Harvey. "You're coming. It's a nice place. Do you have anything to wear? If not, Rachel can take you to-" his thought was cut off by a swift punch in his arm from his girlfriend.

"I've got something to wear," Sidney said with a smile. "How much time do I have to get ready?" Harvey looked at his watch.

"About two hours," he answered.

"Fabulous," Sidney answered, "I'll be ready in about two hours, then." She walked back towards Harvey, stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek, and then sauntered back into her bedroom.

Once the door to Sidney's new bedroom was safely closed, Rachel turned to Harvey.

"Why is she staying _here?"_ She demanded. "Can't she stay in a hotel?"

"I can't let her stay in a hotel, Rachel," said Harvey, "she's an old friend and I haven't seen her in almost ten years." He walked away from her and started sorting the mail on his dining table. "It's only temporary, Rach. Just until she finds her own place." Rachel sighed. Of course, she trusted Harvey, it was the girl showering a few rooms over who bothered her.

"Well … I just stopped by to make sure everything was all right. You didn't answer your cell phone."

"Oh, I had it on silent," he stated as he glanced towards his briefcase. "Sorry, she called me just as I was leaving and I was rushing to meet her. Everything's fine."

"I can see that," Rachel murmured. She was loathe to leave the two of them together, but she had to go and get ready for dinner. Surprised at herself for being so jealous, she kissed Harvey, told him she would see him soon, and then walked out of the apartment, feeling like she had just been sideswiped by a truck.

------------------------

First, she glanced at the clock to check the time. It was almost ten o'clock, and that meant Sal would be there soon, but she still had some time. As she looked at herself in the mirror, Camryn decided that she was more than presentable, which was expected at all times. Recently, she had taken to hanging around Sal Maroni, and if she wasn't to his liking, he would have no problems just sending her away. That was something Camryn definitely did not want. It wasn't that she enjoyed his company in particular, but she enjoyed the company he kept. Being that he was Sal Maroni, he was in with some of the most influential people in Gotham. Of course, these people were not exactly upstanding citizens, but that didn't really matter.

Taking one final look at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but admire the shoes. The knee high boots had been almost as expensive as the shoes she had worn to work that day, but she liked them better. After straightening her leather mini and red silk top, she then fluffed her hair out a little more. There was a lot of it, and it was quite wild. But she wouldn't trade her curls for the world.

The phone rang. Camryn knew that it was Sal and went to pick it up.

"Hello?" She purred.

"Get down here, the car's waitin'," Sal grunted before hanging up. Camryn put down the phone, grabbed her clutch, and hustled out the door. She hustled to the elevator and hopped in. When the doors opened again, she moved with the grace of someone not wearing four-inch heels as she click-clacked her way across the marble tile. She could see Sal's car waiting outside the doors of the hotel in which he had put her. Obviously she was not able to afford a place of her own.

When she got into the car, Sal was there, of course, along with another girl she had never seen before. This wasn't strange, and Camryn definitely didn't mind. If there were two of them, there would be less attention to focus on her, and she might actually be able to have fun.

"Hey," she said smoothly as she slid onto the leather backseat of Sal's town car, giving the man in question a kiss on the cheek. As she tried to pull away, Sal kept her head in place and gave her a real kiss, sliding his hand along her patterned stockings up towards her skirt. Playfully, she smacked his hand, gave him a look that said she thought he was a naughty boy, and settled back into the seat. It was most likely going to be an extremely long night, and she wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

However, when she, Sal, and his other date bypassed the line at Blu, she remembered why she put up with it. Feeling like a celebrity is not something many people hate, and it was nice getting jealous looks from all the other people in the crowd.

The inside of the night club was already hopping. Music was playing, and she could feel the thump of the bass coming in through the soles of her shoes. Sal slid an arm around her waist and guided her to what she assumed would be their camp for the evening. There were already a few of Sal's friends sitting in the white chairs or on the matching lounges across from them. Each of the mobsters had one or two women hanging all over him, and Sal joined the ranks with his two.

"Good evening, gentlemen," he greeted as he sat down. Camryn, of course, did not sit. She was not allowed to until she was instructed. However, rather than that, as Sal sat down, all of the other women stood up. This meant that they were to be dismissed. Obviously they had been waiting to discuss some business or other, and now that Sal was there they could get down to it.

This was fine with Camryn. She dropped her clutch onto Sal's lap, which was what she usually did. He didn't mind holding onto it. After all, it ensured that she didn't leave with anyone else.

----------------

Right across the street, Sidney was keeping a smile on her face. She didn't really like this Rachel girl; her voice was reminiscent of a blender and her face looked like it had been shoved into one. Harvey was much more attractive than that, she concluded, and would therefore have to be saved from this embarrassment. Sure, she was the DA assistant, and was brilliant and courageous and righteous, but that didn't change the fact that she was completely obnoxious.

So, Sidney was doing her best to assert her influence by dominating the majority of the conversation, recalling old times with Harvey, having some good laughs at jokes which Rachel could not possibly understand.

"Ha! Your mother was so angry at you …" Harvey trailed off between breaths as the two of them recalled a particular instant in their childhood in which Sidney, and her surroundings, had ended up covered in red paint.

"It took weeks to get all of the paint out of my hair," Sidney finished, "luckily it was red, otherwise my mother would have insisted on cutting it all off."

"Oh, so that's your natural hair color?" Rachel cut in, making Sidney cut her eyes towards her. She had been doing her best to make Harvey forget that she wasn't there, and it wasn't going to work if she kept talking.

"Of course it's my natural hair color," said Sidney as she ran her hands through her hair, which looked stunning tonight. The cocktail dress she was wearing was almost the exact same rich burgundy as her tresses. With all of her gold accessories, Sidney looked quite stunning compared to Rachel's black ensemble. Of course, it was a beautiful dress, but it was still black.

Sidney had worked like a mad woman to make her clothing presentable. After all, cocktail dresses didn't usually hold up well in duffle bags, but she had gotten it to work by hanging it in the bathroom whilst she showered. The steam had managed to get most of the wrinkles out.

The look on Rachel's face when she had seen her was priceless.

Sadly, though, Rachel could play Sidney's game as well. Because of her more recent connections with Harvey, the two of them obviously had more things to talk about, such as the day's criminal activities.

"They got pictures of the guy who did it," Rachel explained, referring to the robbing of one of the major banks of Gotham City, "but he has paint all over his face."

"He calls himself The Joker," Harvey explained to Sidney, "he's extremely tricky and he's basically in the wind. It's like chasing smoke. No prints, no leads … nothing."

"Sounds like you've got a problem," Sidney agreed, nodding. She didn't particularly care for the conversation. As far as she was concerned, criminals could commit all the crimes they wanted as long as they didn't directly affect her.

"A big one," Harvey assured her, "especially since he keeps killing people." Harvey glanced at his watch. It told him that it was about ten-thirty. "Would either of you like another drink?"

"Oh, yes please," Sidney said as she put down the glass she had been holding in her hand. Feeling like she needed to impress, she had been drinking the same red wine that Harvey and Rachel were drinking. She didn't like it one bit, it was bitter and made her want to vomit, but she had sucked it up, especially since Harvey had seemed so pleased that he was actually able to get a bottle of so special a wine. Rachel answered in the affirmative as well. Harvey poured three more glasses and they settled in for some more stimulating conversation.

"Maybe Batman will be able to take care of him," Rachel suggested as she brought her wine glass to her lips.

"Batman?" Sidney asked. "Who's Batman?"

"The masked vigilante who roams the Gotham streets at night," Harvey answered. "I don't know, something tells me that if Batman hasn't dealt with him yet then it might be a little easier said than done."

"Batman?" Sidney repeated. "Are you serious?"

"He dresses all in black and flies around like a bat," Harvey responded, shrugging. "I think he's doing wonderful things for Gotham, but he's pretty highly sought after. Commissioner Loeb is not exactly fond of people taking the law into their own hands." Sidney started to laugh.

"That's too funny," she chuckled as she sipped her wine. "I mean, I knew this city was nuts, but I didn't know it went that far."

Rachel let out a chuckle to match Sidney's and assured her, "Oh, you don't know the half of it."

-------------------

As people talked about him at dinner tables, Batman himself was not too far away. He was actually standing on the roof of the restaurant in which Harvey, Rachel, and Sidney were eating at that very moment. However, it wasn't the conversations in that building that interested him so much as the ones that were going on across the street.

Sal Maroni was in there, along with a few other very influential people of the Gotham underground. Following the bank robbery earlier that day, the mob was on edge. They had lost a lot of money. Actually, a lot of money was an understatement. He knew it was mob money because, upon looking inside the safe, he discovered some of the marked bills he had given to James Gordon. The bank had been a drop off for the mob, all right, and things were probably going to start going down.

Aware of this, Batman was taking no chances. He knew that this would lead to some rash actions from those who had been stolen from, and rash actions were just the kinds of things he needed to get some of these people behind bars, at least for a little while.

It was still early in the night, but he was prepared to wait.

-------------------

If there was one thing Camryn Griffin could say for herself, it was that she was a smart person. Though she was supposed to be leaving Sal alone to conduct his business, she knew better than to keep her eyes off of him for too long. It wasn't completely out of the question for him to just leave without her. And, after about an hour and a half, when she saw him standing up and walking towards the back door, she didn't hesitate for a moment in following him.

After all, she had drinks to pay for, and damned if she was going to let him leave her stranded like that.

However, one thing she didn't consider was the consequence of bursting into a dark alleyway in which a few mobsters happen to be convening. To her defense, she didn't know that they would still be there, but they were, and they didn't seem happy at all about the intrusion, especially since two of them, one of them being Sal, had guns in their hands. Kneeling in front of them were two of the other men that had been waiting when they got there.

"What the fuck is she doing out here, Sal?!" The other man holding a gun demanded. Rather than answer him, Sal looked to one of his goons, who immediately seized Camryn around the middle and dragged her away from the door to keep her from going back inside.

"Let GO of me!" She ordered as she started struggling, kicking at the man holding her, but to no avail. "If you don't let me go, I swear to God … Sal! Do something, here!"

"Take care of her," Sal murmured, and the goon automatically pulled out a gun. Camryn couldn't see the weapon in question, but she could hear the sound of the hammer cocking back, and started to scream.

"Shut the fuck up!" The goon ordered as he momentarily let go and hit her on the back of the head with the gun. The last thing Camryn heard was the sound of gunshots, and then she was swallowed by blackness.

Once Sal and the others had walked out of the night club, Batman had wasted no time in getting closer. He could tell that they had guns in their hands, and therefore were up to no good, to say the very least. It seemed that Maroni was accusing one of the men kneeling before him of alerting the police to the fact that the bank which had been robbed today was one of their drop offs.

He was waiting to hear more, but that was then a woman walked onto the scene, and it seemed that she knew Sal.

Of course, that would not keep her from dying. Unfortunately she didn't seem to know that, because if she did she would have headed right back inside after seeing what was going on.

Wordlessly, Batman jumped from his post and soared across the street to the top of the night club. Acting quickly, from the roof he jumped down. However, he was not exactly in time. The girl had already been knocked out, but luckily it didn't seem that she was dead, so he decided to deal with her later.

One of the men who had been kneeling had taken advantage of the distraction provided by Camryn, and had gotten his hands on his gun and squeezed a round off, hoping to create even more of a distraction. He was successful in that the man holding a gun to his head had been momentarily spooked, but Sal had not, and quickly shot him. Before he could do anything else, though, Batman was upon him.

Maroni was no fighter. With a gun in his hand, sure he could do some damage, but when it actually came to hurting someone with his own two hands, he was no good. It didn't help that he was far outmatched. He didn't even bother trying to get out of Batman's grip. Instead, he looked over his shoulder and saw that his goon was not so stupid after all.

"Let him go or I'll kill her!" He exclaimed as he held a gun to the head of Camryn's prostrate form.

"You let _her_ go or I'll kill _you_," Batman countered.

"I could kill her a lot faster than you could get to me," he assured him as he pressed the gun harder into her head. He was hoping for some sort of response for Camryn, but had not taken into account the fact that she was unconscious.

The standoff, however, was interrupted by the sounds of sirens in the distance and a small crowd assembling across the street. Obviously they had been attracted by the gun shots.

Not having time to play games, and not willing to gamble with an innocent person's life, Batman threw Maroni to the side, knocking over one of his partners in the process, thinking the man was stupid enough to get caught by him again, and charged towards the man holding Camryn. Seeing Batman flying towards him scared him a little more than he thought it would, and he immediately dropped her.

Silently cursing the girl for ruining his bust, he scooped her up and started running the opposite direction of the crowd that had gathered.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't just leave the girl where she was, as her head was bleeding quite profusely. He couldn't take her to a hospital, because he would be followed there. Once getting her into the bat mobile, he checked her for any identification, but she didn't even half pockets.

In the back of his head, he commented that there wasn't really much room for pockets on the clothes she had worn, and as he sped off had to force himself from looking at her legs, which seemed to be about a mile long, and looked gorgeous even covered in those hideous stockings.

--------------------------------------

"What's happening?" Sidney demanded as she tried to see through the crowd. The heels she was wearing made her about three inches taller than she actually was, but that only put her at about 5'7", and definitely not tall enough to see over anyone.

"I don't know," Harvey said as he started pushing through the crowd, followed closely by Rachel. Sidney followed without hesitation. The cop cars had just arrived, and the scene was filled with flashing lights and sirens. Ambulances were not far off, but that didn't seem to stop Harvey or Rachel from getting closer.

"What's going on?" Rachel demanded of one of the police officers.

"I don't know," he answered without looking at them. "Looks like Sal Maroni lying in that alley way, though, and his isn't the only body lying on the concrete. Oh, wait … he just got up."

Of course, he wasn't able to get up completely, as there were police officers all over him, now, knocking him back to the ground and cuffing his hands behind his back. When the dragged him up, Sal didn't look scared or worried, he just seemed rather bored, as if this was something that happened regularly.

"One of those bodies has been shot," the officer added.

"Yeah, thanks," said Harvey sarcastically before turning to Rachel. "Take her home," he motioned towards Sidney. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"But-" Rachel began.

"Just do it," Harvey ordered, and then turned his back on her, wading into the fray. Rachel turned slowly to look at Sidney, who was not looking at her but the scene in front of her.

"Well," Rachel began as she grabbed her by the wrist and started walking away from the crowd, looking for a cab to catch, "welcome to Gotham City."

"Let go of me!" Sidney ordered as she wrenched her hands out of Rachel's grip. "I am _not_ a child, I can follow you all by myself." Rachel looked like she was about to say something cutting in return, and then stopped herself, holding her hands in the air in surrender.

"Fine," she responded, and then continued walking, not willing to get in a fight with this girl in the middle of the street. She figured that Harvey would probably blame her for it, and didn't want to give this Sidney girl any extra chances. She was going to be getting plenty just living with Harvey. Rachel silently resolved to spend some more time in his apartment as she hailed a cab.

"Is stuff like this always happening?" Sidney asked as she slid in the back seat next to Rachel, who only shrugged in response to the question. She would be nice in front of Harvey, but if she didn't have to, she wasn't going to be. On top of all the other things she had to worry about, she now had to think of the girl who was apparently trying to steal her boyfriend.

Being the District Attorney assistant had taught her how to play dirty, and she was not above that, not at all.


	2. An Excellent Judge of Character

"What is this?" Alfred Pennyworth demanded of his master as he came upon him walking through the penthouse with a bleeding girl in his hands. Bruce was still wearing his suit except for the mask. He hadn't had time to take it off.

"She needs help," said Bruce as he put her on the couch, disregarding the blood.

"Well that much is clear," said Alfred as he used his fingers to open her eyes, "but couldn't you have just left her at the scene? I'm sure ambulances would have been there momentarily."

"True," Bruce agreed as he took off his gloves, "but something told me that if I left her there she would be in trouble, and not with the law. I think she might be Maroni's girlfriend … or one of them anyway. Looked like she saw something that she wasn't supposed to see."

"Oh, so now we're the witness protection program, too?" Alfred asked dryly.

"I couldn't just leave her there," Bruce reiterated.

"Well, I don't think there's any permanent damage," said Alfred, "but then again, I'm not a doctor. You'd better go change, just in case she wakes up. I'll take care of things in here." Bruce nodded and stalked off into his bedroom, continuing to undress as he went.

That hadn't gone quite like he had planned, but then again, nothing ever did.

"One more question, Master Bruce," Alfred said to his retreating back. "Why bring her here, sir? She will, of course, have questions."

"You're a smart guy, Alfred," Bruce began, "I'm sure you can come up with something believable."

"That's as may be, sir," Alfred began, "but I would still like to know why you brought her here. I'm curious."

Bruce stopped walking and turned around to look at his butler, apparently deep in thought. In all honesty, he wasn't completely sure why he had brought her there. Of course, it wasn't the only option, and at the time he had known that. And yet, without thinking, he had put her in his car and brought him back to his home of all places. Obviously, she would have no recollection of how she had gotten there, but that didn't really seem like a huge problem. Making up a story was not exactly something he had never done.

"I don't know," he answered. "I wanted to."

------------------

Sidney had tried to stay up and wait for Harvey, but fatigue and the time change finally caught up, and she ended up falling asleep in the dress she had worn to dinner. In the morning, she was awoken by Harvey shaking her lightly and saying her name.

"Hey. Wake up!" He called.

"Urrrgghh," was all Sidney said in response as she rolled over and covered her head with one of the pillows.

"Come on, now, I don't have time for this," Harvey responded. "Get dressed, you have to come with me to the court house and then we'll see about you getting a job."

Normally, Harvey would not be so pushy about this sort of thing, but when he had gotten into his apartment last night, Rachel had been there waiting for him, and the talk that had ensued was not a particularly fun one, especially since he had just been following Sal Maroni to the police station trying, in vain, to keep him in detainment.

"She can't live here, Harvey," Rachel had said, confident that Sidney was asleep in her bedroom and therefore not able to hear her. "I understand that you're trying to be nice, but-"

"There's nothing to be worried about, Rachel," Harvey assured her. "She's just an old friend who needs a place to stay. I can't just throw her out on the street! I won't do it."

"What is wrong with staying in a hotel?" Rachel asked. "There are plenty of hotels in this city."

"I can't do that to her," Harvey insisted. "She's had a hard time, lately. She needs a friend, and I'm not kicking her out of this apartment. Besides I'm pretty sure that she doesn't have the money for that anyway. If you had moved in here when I asked you to, you would have some kind of say in this. But you didn't, so you don't. End of discussion."

It had been brief, but the repercussions probably wouldn't be quite so short-lived. Rachel had left in a huff, making sure that her discontent was obvious.

So, along with the busy schedule he was facing, he also had to deal with the fact that his girlfriend was angry with him. She would get over it, he was sure, but it was still a little more than annoying.

"I'm leaving in twenty minutes," was the last thing he said before he left the room. Sidney rolled her eyes and heaved herself from the bed. She was still tired, but obviously Harvey didn't care. The only reason Sidney was not protesting was because she was glad he had given her an excuse to follow him around all day. Sure, it would probably be really boring, but she was not one to waste her time.

After taking a quick shower, she dressed in what she assumed would be a safe outfit for the day. Just in case she was expected to look presentable, she put on a patterned blue skirt, a silk white tank top with a cardigan over it, some sandals, and she was ready. Walking out of her bedroom door, she threw her hair up into a messy pony tail.

"Ready," she responded, "is this acceptable?"

"You look fine," Harvey grunted as he picked up his briefcase and started ushering her towards the door.

"What's your problem?" Sidney demanded as they walked towards the elevator. "Long night?"

"Very long," Harvey answered.

"Was it because of Rachel?" Sidney asked. "I heard you two fighting. I'm sorry that I caused I problem. I could stay in a hotel if it's really that big of a deal."

"You're staying right where you are," Harvey said to her as the two of them exited his building and he started looking for a cab. "Rachel is a grown woman and should act like one. She thinks that she has something to worry about."

"Does she?" Sidney couldn't help but ask.

"Quit trying to be funny, Sidney," Harvey responded as a cab pulled up and he opened the door for her. Sidney wasn't quite sure what to do with that answer. It could have meant that the question was so ridiculous that it didn't even deserve a response, or it could have been Harvey trying to cover up the fact that Rachel _did_ really have something to worry about.

Regardless of Harvey's meaning, Sidney decided that Rachel _did_ really have something to worry about.

"So, what happened last night after you made Rachel take me away?" Sidney asked.

"Well," Harvey began, "there is a man named Sal Maroni, and he basically runs the majority of the crime in Gotham City. Last night he was found in an alley with a dead body and a gun in his hand, or at least it was near him with his fingerprints on it."

"Oh! How exciting!" Sidney exclaimed.

"That's what I thought," Harvey agreed, "but this guy is untouchable. He's got so many of his own people in the system that it's impossible to keep him in prison unless …" Harvey stopped himself. "Well, the short and long of it is he made bail. His trial is next week."

"I'm sure you'll get him," Sidney assured him as she patted him on the shoulder.

"Hope you're right," Harvey replied as the cab rolled to a stop in front of a large building with huge pillars in the front. Obviously this was the court house.

"What are we doing here?" Sidney asked.

"Trial," he answered, "serial killer pleading insanity." He shook his head as he paid the cab driver and they started walking up the stairs. "I've met this guy before, and he seemed pretty sane to me. But, they're trying to move him to Arkham, now."

"What's the difference?" Sidney asked. "As long as he's not out with the public does it really matter if he's in an insane asylum or prison?"

"If he was really insane, I wouldn't really have much of a problem with it," Harvey responded, "but this has been happening a lot lately. And we can't just keep sending convicted criminals to Arkham, or worse, letting them go because they weren't in their right mind when they committed their crime."

Sidney shrugged and said, "Fair enough. How long is this going to take?"

"Hard to say," Harvey responded. "Do you mind just sitting in the back until it's done? Who knows, it might actually be interesting."

"No, I don't mind," Sidney responded as they walked through the doors and immediately took a left turn. As soon as they entered the court room, Harvey showed Sidney to her seat and then headed to the front of the room to start the trial.

From her vantage point, Sidney could only see the backs of everyone's head. However, that didn't really matter because she wasn't actually interested. She tried to find a comfortable seat on the bench and then settled in for what she figured was going to be a long trial.

--------------------------------------

"Urrnnggghhh …" was all Camryn could manage upon waking up. Luckily, the room was still dark; there was no light to further aggravate her already splitting headache. Confident that she wasn't going to vomit, she slowly sat up, and then realized that she had no idea where she was. This wasn't Sal's bedroom, and it wasn't her room at the hotel. "Hello?" She called out, and then immediately wished that she hadn't. She immediately lay back on the pillows and closed her eyes.

That was when she heard the door open and, despite the pain, she sat back up.

"Who are you?" She demanded as she backed up against the headboard, bringing her knees to her chest.

"My name is Alfred," the butler informed her as he proceeded into the room. "I would have knocked, but you called." He was holding a tray filled with different kinds of foods.

"Where am I?" Camryn continued, trying her hardest to keep her eyes open.

"Bruce Wayne's penthouse, ma'am," Alfred answered very matter-of-factly. This caused Camryn's jaw to drop and her eyes to open wider, which was considerably painful. Groaning, she put her head back down.

"You'd better take it easy," said Alfred, who was happy to have someone who might actually listen to him. After being so used to having Bruce completely ignore his concerns about his health, it was a rather refreshing change. "You took quite a knock to the head, you know."

"How did I get here?" Camryn asked.

"Master Wayne suggested it," said Alfred. "There was an incident with Mr. Maroni last night, and he thought that you would be safest here."

"Oh …" Camryn trailed off, suddenly remembering the events which had led to her being incapacitated. "Is he here?" Camryn asked.

"He's at Wayne Enterprises at the moment," said Alfred. "He got up earlier and suggested we move you in here, where there is more control over the amount of light. This is his bedroom."

Camryn almost pissed herself right then. She was lying in Bruce Wayne's bed, in the room where he slept every night. Or at least the room where she _assumed_ he slept every night. Shamelessly, she brought the sheets up to her nose and took a big whiff, basking in the scent of billionaire sex god.

"He should be back soon, he said he was going to check in on you once you woke up, and I just let him know about it," Alfred explained to her. "Do you think you could handle a bit of light?"

"I don't know," Camryn responded, still on the fact that Bruce Wayne was going to be checking in on her soon, and she felt much less than sexy. She was going to have to deal with the light. "Yes, I'll be fine." She threw the sheets back and attempted to get out of the bed while Alfred had his back turned to her.

She stood up for all of two seconds before she fell back down, luckily onto the bed.

"You probably shouldn't try that," said Alfred as he helped her back beneath the covers. "There will be a doctor around once Master Wayne gets here."

"OK … I need to shower … or something," Camryn explained. "I mean, I can't let Bruce Wayne see me like this."

"He saw you last night," said Alfred, "and you looked much worse, then. After all, you weren't even awake."

"Yeah, but I'm sure I _looked_ just fine," Camryn responded. "I don't suppose Mr. Wayne managed to grab my purse, did he?"

"I don't suppose he did," Alfred responded, "do you need something?"

"A hair tie, for starters?" Camryn asked, sure that her hair was all over the place.

"I might be able to come up with a rubber band," Alfred said as he backed out of the room. Camryn told him that would be fine. In truth, she was loathe to put a rubber band in her hair, but she would rather die than let Bruce Wayne see her looking the way she did right now. Suddenly remembering something, she peeked beneath the covers and realized that someone had gotten her out of the clothes she was wearing last night.

The thought of Bruce Wayne undressing her was enough to give her hot flashes. But then she realized she was wearing men's clothing, and realized those were probably Bruce Wayne's silk pajamas covering her legs. That was when Alfred came back with the rubber band he promised and a small hand mirror. He turned up the light in the room ever so slightly.

After Alfred brought her a little bowl full of water, Camryn set about getting her hair under control, which was no easy task. Especially since her head felt like it was falling apart.

"It looks like you're feeling all right," said Alfred, "can I tempt you?" He gestured towards the tray with the hand that wasn't holding the mirror in front of Camryn's face. She momentarily looked at the tray. It was filled with eggs, bacon, sausage, French toast, regular toast, orange juice, and black coffee. It looked delicious, but it was a reflex for Camryn to turn down any sort of food. The fact that she actually had the excuse of being in excruciating pain was nice, though.

"No, thanks," Camryn responded. She got the front of her hair smooth and was now proceeding in tying it back into a bun at the nape of her neck. Having succeeded in this, she put her head back down.

"I think you should eat _something_," Alfred insisted.

"I'll take the coffee, then," said Camryn, feeling like he wouldn't be satisfied until she ate something, "and a few slices of bacon."

"There we go," said Alfred as he helped her to get the food that she wanted. Then, he handed her two pills. "For the headache." He then took away all the food she wasn't eating and left her to herself to eat the food. And of course, to be completely amazed at the situation in which she had just been dropped.

--------------------------------------------------------

Much to her surprise, the trial had not been nearly as dull as she thought it was going to be. For one, the man on trial did seem to be generally insane. His hands did not move from the sides of his heads the whole time, and throughout the entire duration of the trial his unintelligible mumbling could be heard throughout the room.

For another, Dr. Jonathan Crane was probably one of the most beautiful people she had ever seen.

Of course, Harvey did not share her opinion. He was rather upset with Dr. Crane because the man who he wanted to move to Arkham was definitely on his way there.

"That man needs to be shot," Harvey spat as he and Sidney started to walk very briskly from the courthouse. They were stopped, though, by a smooth, silky voice coming from behind them.

"I hope that you're not talking about me, Dent," Jonathan Crane said as he caught up to them. "After all, I am only looking out for the mental welfare of my patients."

"The mental welfare of serial killers," Harvey amended. "Quite honestly, I don't care if they cut themselves up and spread their innards on Main."

"And I thought you were someone who cared," Jonathan drawled, and then he looked to Sidney, "and who is your charming friend."

"Sidney Reynolds" Sidney said eagerly as she held her hand out for a shake, which Jonathan readily gave. Upon a closer inspection of his face, Sidney could see that his face was rather odd-looking, but still completely beautiful. His eyes were impossibly light and made to seem even lighter by medium-length dark brown hair. Letting her eyes roam down his face, Sidney then noticed that his cheekbones were abnormally high, and on anyone else would have been quite odd, but on him it just added to the strange beauty that was his face. A tall man, he was just as tall as Harvey, only much lankier, with long legs and arms. He moved with a grace that suggested that he knew that he was striking. When his and Sidney's hands were touching for a little longer than is customary for a handshake, Harvey believed that it was Crane's doing and stepped in. However, it was really Sidney who did not want to let go of him, for fear that he would float right back to the heavens from which he came.

"And we were just leaving," he said. "I have a witness that I need to question, and Sidney has to come with me."

"Oh, do you?" Jonathan asked, he still hadn't let go of Sidney's hand, though, "I'm assuming you mean the girl who witnessed Sal Maroni holding a gun to the back of Jimmy Curtains' head?"

"Jimmy Curtains?" Sidney asked, removing her hand from Dr. Crane's herself. "What kind of name is that?"

"Well, they say that when Jimmy is after you, it's curtains," Jonathan responded, then he looked back to Harvey. "Where have you got her stored? It's a wonder she's not dead yet."

"I'm afraid that's classified information," Harvey responded.

"But Sidney is allowed to know?" Jonathan asked. "Has she replaced Ms. Dawes as your assistant?"

"No," Sidney answered for herself, not liking that he was talking about her as if she wasn't there. "I'm new to Gotham. Just got here yesterday."

"Oh, and how are you finding it?"

"It's very interesting," Sidney answered, smiling a little.

"And where did you come from?" Jonathan continued.

"What is this, twenty questions?" Harvey asked as he tried to steer Sidney away.

"Los Angeles," she answered as she shrugged out of Harvey's grip. "Just go without me! I can find my way back to your apartment just fine."

"I'm not leaving you here," Harvey muttered into her ear.

"I wouldn't want to keep you from anything," said Dr. Crane as he went into his jacket and pulled out a card, on which he then wrote something with a pen he had also extracted from his jacket. After this, he handed it to Sidney, touching her hand once more. "There is my card, it has all of my numbers on it. Have a nice day." And then he brushed past them.

"What is that look on your face?" Harvey asked as the two of them continued out of the courthouse and into yet another cab.

"He is the most beautiful person I have ever seen," Sidney said, still not quite focused on the conversation she was supposed to be having.

"He's a dirtball is what he is," Harvey responded as he gave the cab driver the address of their next destination. "I don't know how many mob peons he's had pardoned."

"When you look like that, you can do anything you want to do," said Sidney. Harvey rolled his eyes.

"You're not actually planning on calling him, are you?" Harvey asked.

"Well, it's not like you let me stick around long enough to give him _my_ number," Sidney responded testily. "So, where are we going?"

"Bruce Wayne's penthouse," said Harvey. "I don't know why, but my witness is there." He cut his eyes towards Sidney. "And so is Rachel. I'm expecting you to be nice."

"I'm always nice," Sidney responded. "In fact, I have been nothing but civil towards Rachel. She is the one who hates me."

"Just try for me, all right?" Harvey asked, knowing exactly how Sidney could be. Even though he hadn't seen her in quite a long time, he doubted that she had changed that particular aspect of her personality. Harvey Dent was an excellent judge of character.


	3. Too Hard To Handle

"I don't know," said Bruce when asked by Harvey whether or not they could ask Camryn a few questions. He, along with Harvey, Rachel, and Sidney were sitting in his living room. Camryn, though, was still in his bedroom. Having finished her bacon and coffee, she had immediately gone back to sleep, despite her efforts to stay awake long enough to thank Bruce for his hospitality. "She's not exactly in the best shape."

"Just a few questions is all we are asking," Harvey stated.

"Please, Bruce?" Rachel pleaded. "She could really help us get this guy." Bruce sighed. He had a hard time saying no to her when it came to most things.

"I'll go ask her if she's all right to talk to you," he replied as he got out of his chair and headed into his bedroom.

"She's sleeping in his bedroom?" Harvey said beneath his breath.

"Who is this guy?" Sidney asked as she looked around the penthouse, which was really more like a huge house that just happened to be on the top story of a huge tower.

"Bruce Wayne," Rachel responded, "the owner of Wayne Enterprises."

"Uh-huh …" Sidney trailed off. "And is this girl we've come to talk to his girlfriend or something?"

"Not that I know of," Rachel responded, sure that if Bruce did indeed have a girlfriend, she would be one of the first people to know about it.

-------------------------------

"Knock knock," Bruce said gently as he opened the door to his bedroom.

Camryn was not really asleep, but just doing her best to keep her eyes closed and block out the sounds that were coming from the living room. She could hear the low rumble of male voices accompanied by the higher notes of the females, and estimated there were at least three other people out there.

And she still looked like complete and utter crap.

"This is a disaster," she murmured. That was when the door opened and in walked Bruce Wayne. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell by the build that it wasn't the butler, and who else would be walking into Bruce Wayne's bedroom.

"Oh, it's not that bad," said Bruce as he came and raised the level of light slightly.

"Oh … it is," Camryn assured him.

"The doctor said that there is no permanent damage," Bruce reminded her as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Are those pain killers doing anything for you?"

"They're working," she answered, "but now I feel all drowsy and stupid."

"Better than being in pain," Bruce reminded her. "The DA is here, and he wants to ask you a few questions."

"What about?" Camryn inquired.

"The events of last night," he answered. "Do you think you're up to it? Or shall I send them away?"

"I'm up to it," Camryn responded as she slowly sat up. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"Doing what?" Bruce answered her question with one of his own.

"Being nice to me, taking care of me," Camryn responded. "I mean … you're Bruce Wayne."

"I'm fully aware of my name," Bruce assured her, "but, I still don't know yours."

"Camryn," she answered, "Camryn Griffin. See? You don't even know who I am, and here I am sleeping in your bed. This seems a little odd to me."

"You needed somewhere safe," Bruce told her, "and this is one of the safest places in the city. Not to mention, I saw you lying there knocked out and couldn't help thinking you were one of the prettiest things I've ever seen. So, I took you home, and here you are in my bed. And as for how you got out of your clothes … I'll just say it was a blast."

Camryn didn't say anything. She was too busy trying to keep herself from hyperventilating.

"Where _are_ those clothes, by the way?" Camryn she asked after an awkward minute of silence. "They were not cheap. Especially those boots. Tell me nothing happened to the boots!"

"All of your clothes are fine," Bruce assured her, slightly amused. "A little dirty, but I'll have them sent to the dry cleaners. And the boots are safe; they're in the guest bedroom. That's where you were sleeping, but I can't block those windows like I can with these." He motioned to the wall behind her, which, now that she looked, was made completely of glass. "Now, about talking to the people outside."

"I can't," she whispered.

"Why not?" Bruce asked.

"I'm wearing pajamas," she responded. Bruce smirked and threw back the covers. He then lifted her from the bed.

"It's OK, they're _my_ pajamas."

Camryn could not argue with that logic, and was perfectly content to let Bruce carry her out of the bedroom and into the living room, where there were three people waiting for her. There were two girls, once she recognized as the DA assistant, but the other she didn't know.

"You're GORGEOUS!" She said to Sidney when she saw her. "And I love that skirt."

"Uhm … thanks," Sidney responded, unsure of what to do with such blatant praise. She did manage to sneak a quick peek at Rachel's face, though, to see her reaction to not being called gorgeous by this girl who, when she was properly dressed and made up, was probably quite stunning herself.

"I'm Camryn," she stated as Bruce put her down in one of the chairs. "I have a big headache and it's _really_ bright in here."

"She's on vicodin," Bruce explained.

"Thank you, Bruce," said Rachel as she put a hand on his knee.

"You don't have to thank me," said Bruce, "she's the one answering the questions. I wasn't there." Camryn, seeing this interaction, started to become slightly jealous. Obviously, she had no claim on Bruce, but she liked to think it was a definite possibility, and she was definitely way prettier than Rachel Dawes.

"Can we do this?" Camryn asked as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "I think my eyes might fall out. He hit me hard enough."

"Who hit you?" Harvey asked, ready to get started with the questioning.

"I don't know," Camryn answered. "Sal has so many goons, it's hard to keep track of all of them. It doesn't help that I never really learn their names to begin with."

"So I'm guessing you spend a lot of time with Sal?" Rachel continued. Camryn opened one eye and glared at her with it.

"Can you not talk?" She asked. "Your voice is hurting my head." Sidney snorted, and Rachel looked properly offended. "And as for the answer to the question, I spent a pretty good amount of time with Sal, but it's not like I had a choice of how much time I spent. If he wants you, he calls you, and if you say no you're in trouble. But are we really here to talk about my romantic relationship with Sal Maroni? I'd rather not, thanks."

"So … what can you tell us about last night?" Harvey asked her.

"It started off normally," Camryn answered. "When we showed up at Blu, there were few people waiting for us. I recognized them, but I couldn't put names on the faces. Anyway, we got there and Sal sent us off. He doesn't like to have us around when he's 'doing business'. I guess about an hour later, I saw him leave and I followed because I had had … more than a few drinks, and it's not uncommon for him to just leave people in the lurch. I didn't have money to pay the tab. So, I walked out into the alley and I saw Sal and one of his buddies standing behind two men who were kneeling in front of them. Once I saw, Sal had someone grab me, told him to shoot me, I started struggling, and he hit me in the head. That's the last thing I remember. I can't see how this is helpful to you."

"Every bit helps," said Harvey. "Would you be willing to testify?"

"Not really," Camryn answered quickly. "I don't think I'd get the words out before I got shot, even in broad daylight. There are plenty of people lower down who will do whatever he tells them to do."

"If we can guarantee protection-"

"You can't guarantee me anything," Camryn assured him. "Don't get me wrong, Mr. Dent, you're doing great things in Gotham City, but are you gonna jump in front of a bullet for me?" Harvey was silent for a moment. "That's what I thought. I don't hold it against you, it's just that you can't promise me anything. Can't I just sign a piece of paper-"

"Your account won't do any good unless you testify in court," Harvey cut her off.

"If it's body guards you want, they can be supplied," Bruce assured her.

"I don't know, I have to think about it when I can think straight." She opened her other eye, and this time she looked at Sidney. "You haven't said much."

"I'm just tagging along," Sidney told her.

"I was about to say, you're definitely too pretty to be a lawyer. And I would know. I work for _Details_."

"The magazine?" Sidney asked.

"Yep," Camryn answered. "Just started. Good times." She sat up and looked Sidney straight in the face. "So, if you're not here to be all lawyerly, why _are_ you?"

"Like I said, just tagging along," Sidney repeated. "I just got here yesterday, I'm staying with Mr. Dent in his apartment." Camryn laughed. Being that she worked for a magazine, she was up to date with all of the gossip and news about people in the public eye, such as Harvey Dent and his girlfriend and assistant Rachel Dawes.

"And how do _you_ like that, Rachel?" She asked. Rachel handled the direct address with poise.

"I thought that I was not allowed to speak," Rachel reminded her.

"Well, you just did," Camryn responded, "so you might as well keep going. This is good. I wish I had a notebook … or a tape recorder. I mean … I'm not actually a writer for the magazine, but they wouldn't turn this down. So, where did you come from, Sidney?"

"With all due respect, Miss Griffin," Harvey interrupted, "we are not here to discuss my social life."

"No, just mine," Camryn corrected. "I'm bored by all of this, and this light is killing me. Can we just let Sidney answer my questions?"

"LA," Sidney said with a smile. Normally, she would be annoyed, answering this question for the umpteenth time. But, Rachel seemed to be getting pretty angry, so she went along with it.

"Why?" Camryn asked.

"Just needed a change," said Sidney.

"Bull shit," Camryn responded. "You don't move to Gotham City for 'a change'. You move to somewhere out in the country for 'a change'. If you're here, you're here for a reason … or because you were born here and just can't seem to get out no matter how hard you try."

"And why are you here?" Sidney asked her.

"Why am I _here_?" Camryn responded. "Or why am I in Gotham City?"

"Well, I suppose it's not really any of my business why you're _here_," Sidney responded. "Besides, it's a nice place. I mean why are you in Gotham City?"

"I work here," Camryn answered. "And I was born here, and I went to school here. I probably couldn't really leave if I tried. I'd miss it. I like dirt and grunge." She looked around Bruce's apartment. "Though, this is really starting to grow on me. You have a very nice place, Mr. Wayne."

"It's only temporary," Bruce answered, "until Wayne Manor has been rebuilt."

"Well, it's not too uncomfortable for you, I hope," Camryn quipped, smirking.

"It'll do," Bruce responded. "It's smaller than the Manor, but I'm the only person who lives here. There's a lot of space."

"Maybe Sidney can stay here," Rachel suggested to Harvey. "Would that be all right with you, Bruce?"

Bruce, who was kind of glad that Sidney was staying with Harvey, didn't really want to extend the invitation, but he figured that he should just so that he didn't seem like a complete jerk. What's more, Rachel had asked him.

"Like I said, there's plenty of space," Bruce reiterated. "You're welcome to it if you like." As he said it, he was hoping fervently that she would say no. It wasn't his privacy he was trying to protect. That was easy enough. But he could tell that Rachel was definitely not pleased with the living arrangements, and anything that made Rachel angry with Harvey was fine in his book.

"No, thank you," Sidney responded. "I'm going to stay with Harvey. No offense, but I don't really know you, and when you're in a strange city it's good to be among friends."

"That it is," Bruce agreed, breathing a subtle sigh of relief.

"Great. Now that our little interrogation session is over, I need to make some phone calls. Everyone will be wondering where I am." She made the mistake of trying to stand up on her own, immediately lost her balance and fell over onto the floor. "That sucks. Is this going to last forever?"

"The doctor said you should have your balance back in a few days," Bruce explained. "The blow probably affected your inner ear." He got up from his set and collected Camryn from the floor. "I can make any phone calls you might need me to, and you'd probably be in less trouble if I made them for you, anyway."

"I never said that we were done here," Harvey corrected her.

"Well, yeah," Camryn agreed, "but I did. Can't we do this at another time? This light is really getting to me." Like in the bedroom, the walls were made completely of glass. The only problem here was that they were not covered by the same tinted covers that had been lowered over those windows. Sunlight filled every corner of the room, and it was now leaking into every corner of her head, which was starting to pound.

"Could you suck it up for a minute?" Harvey asked, and Camryn raised her eyebrow.

"Had you asked nicely, I might have," Camryn answered. "But now I don't think I feel like doing anything but lying here with my eyes closed."

"Your cooperation in this in this investigation is probably what's best for you," said Rachel, even though she had been told not to speak. "As long as-"

"If you're trying to imply that Sal Maroni cannot touch me while he is behind bars, I would just like to say that you are far stupider than you look," Camryn cut her off.

"That's enough!" Rachel screamed, jumping from her chair. Camryn flinched and put a hand over one of her ears.

"Could you not?" She groaned. "It's bad enough when you're _not_ yelling."

Sidney couldn't help but laugh, though she did try to muffle it with her hand. Obviously, she could not be blatantly mean to Rachel, but this girl was, and she was doing a great job of it.

"It's very mean of you to shout like that," Sidney said to Rachel once she had gotten control of herself, "I mean, she did get in the head with a gun last night. You could be a little more considerate."

"Well, if she wasn't whoring herself to the scum of the earth, she probably wouldn't have to worry about it," Rachel countered.

"True," Sidney agreed, "but you also wouldn't have a witness."

"Thank you," Camryn added. "And if you call me a whore again, I might actually get off this couch and beat the shit out of you." This was an empty threat. Both of them knew it. Hell, Camryn couldn't even stand up on her own, but she wasn't about to let this girl call her a whore.

"She's such a bully, isn't she?" Sidney asked, becoming more confident now that she had someone else who didn't like Rachel and it wasn't just her.

"I know, right? Like, I could have said that I just didn't want to talk to her, but here I am, being a trooper, and there she is yelling at me," Camryn agreed. "And calling me very mean names."

"She didn't mean to yell at you, or call you names," Harvey assured her. "Rachel, sit down."

"Yes, Rachel, sit down," Camryn repeated.

"So, you don't know anything about any of the guys in the alley?" Harvey asked. "You didn't recognize them when you got to the club?"

"I recognized them," Camryn told him, "but if you're trying to get at if I know about their previous affiliations with Sal, then I will have to disappoint you and say that I don't. Those aren't really the kinds of things he tells me."

"What kinds of things _does_ he tell you?" Harvey asked.

"Nothing you'd want to know about," Camryn answered. She opened her eyes for a moment to see if she could at least look at everyone, but the flood of light once again made her head start to pound, and she felt like she was made of jelly. "I think I'm going to throw up."

There was a lot of motion at once, and Camryn felt herself being lifted from the couch. Just in case, she kept her eyes screwed tightly closed. Then, she felt herself being placed on a hard, cool floor, and figured that Bruce had probably placed her in the bathroom.

"Could you please go?" She asked as she got to her knees.

"Are you sure?" He asked her.

"Oh yeah," she assured him. The _last_ thing she wanted was Bruce Wayne seeing her throwing up. It was bad enough that he _knew_.

----------------------------

"I think it would be best if you all left," said Bruce. "She's really not feeling well."

"How long is she going to be staying here?" Rachel asked, sounding like she did not approve of the arrangement at all.

"Do you not like _any_ females living with guys in their apartments?" Sidney asked. She was still feeling brave, especially since Harvey had not reprimanded her for being rude earlier.

Bruce smirked. If Rachel was jealous, that was just wonderful.

"I'll let you all know when she's feeling better," Bruce assured them.

"Please do!" Sidney exclaimed. "I liked her." And if she was going to be living in Gotham City for any amount of time, she was going to need some friends besides Harvey and Rachel. She brought a pen and a gum wrapper from out of her purse and proceeded to write her cell phone number on it. "Give this to her and tell her to give me a call when she feels better."

Bruce looked down at the gum wrapper and then nodded. "Sure," he responded, "just don't expect it to be too soon."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Sidney assured him.

"Thank you, Bruce," said Rachel. In response, Bruce just nodded, turned on his heel, and headed back towards the bathroom.

"Awww .. he wuvs her," Sidney drawled as they made their way to the front door of Bruce's penthouse, escorted by Albert. Although he wanted very badly to respond to this comment, he kept his mouth closed.

"Thank you all for coming," he said as he held the door open for them.

"Thanks, man," Sidney responded as she walked out the door. "She was fun, I liked her."

"I hate it when they're like that," Harvey stated.

"Like what?" Sidney asked.

"Well … I wouldn't say they're _loyal_," Harvey answered, "it's just that people related to the mob in any way are afraid to give any information at all for fear of being killed. I guess it's a legitimate fear, but it makes my job so much tougher. We need her to at least testify what she saw."

"Well, if Rachel wasn't being such a bitch to her, maybe she would have agreed to it."

"I wasn't being a bitch!" Rachel exclaimed. "She is the one who started it."

"If you say so," Sidney responded. "Well, she seemed to like me. I'll see what I can do for you."

"That'd be amazing," Harvey responded as they got in the elevator and started going down. "I would be forever grateful." Sidney smirked at Rachel and then looked back at Harvey. "It's not a problem. Anything I can do to help. What are we doing now?"

"Well, we're heading to a restaurant I know," Harvey answered. "The owner is a friend of mine and I'm sure if he asked he'd be willing to give you a job."

"Great," Sidney responded, trying to sound like she was genuinely enthused. In truth, she didn't actually like working in a restaurant. It was too much walking around and carrying stuff all night long. But, since Harvey was willing to do her the favor, she supposed that she could at least go and look at the place, and then she could just say thanks, but no thanks.

When they reached the street level, there was a black town car waiting for them.

"What, no more cabs?" Sidney asked.

"We normally use the car," Harvey said to her, "at least during the day when we're going from place to place. I'm not really supposed to use it for anything personal, but I do it anyway." Harvey then told the driver that they were going to a place called Jean-Georges, but first they would have to drop Rachel off at the office. "I need you to go over the files on the Maroni case. See if there are any more people we could talk to. This shouldn't take me very long."

Rachel looked like she wanted to protest, but Harvey was her boss, after all. She couldn't just say no when he told her to do something having to do with work.

"All right," she answered.

When they pulled up to the office, she got out of the car without so much as a good bye and slammed the door behind her.

"I think you're in trouble," said Sidney.

"She'll be fine," Harvey assured her. "Don't worry about it." Sidney smirked and settled comfortably into her seat. Of course she wasn't going to worry about it. After all, she was the reason it was happening, and she knew that quite well. So did Harvey, for that matter. But, he wasn't doing anything to stop it. Truthfully, he was a little confused about what was happening. He supposed that he loved Rachel very much. Hell, he was planning on asking her to marry him before Sidney got there. But there was something going on now, something that he wasn't quite sure how to handle.


	4. You're Safe Here

"She's going to be fine, Master Bruce," said Alfred as he entered Bruce's bedroom holding a tray that had a glass full of ginger ale and some crackers. Obviously the bacon and coffee had not been a very good idea. Camryn was still in the master bathroom, and it didn't sound like she was having a very good time. "Probably shouldn't have taken her out of bed. Or into that amount of light, for that matter."

"I didn't think it would be that serious," Bruce responded. He was leaning against the wall next to the door with his arms crossed across his chest.

"It's all right, the doctor said she would be fine," Alfred reassured him. "It's most likely the pain killers making her sick." He walked over to the bed and put the tray down on the bedside table. "Just tell her to eat this if she can when she gets out of there." Bruce just nodded and Alfred excused himself from the room.

A few seconds after Alfred left, the retching coming from the bathroom stopped and toilet flushed. He could hear the sink running, and deciding that he had left her alone long enough he knocked and opened the door without waiting for a response. There he saw Camryn leaning against the sink, spooning water into her mouth with her hands.

"I could have Alfred bring you a glass of water if you want," he told her.

"I'll be fine," Camryn responded as she washed her hands, still leaning against the sink for support. Bruce then put himself behind her and put his hands on her hips to steady her.

"You all done?" He asked. "Or should I have a bucket placed next to the bed?"

"I think as long as I don't eat anything I should be fine," Camryn responded.

"Well, Alfred brought you some ginger ale and crackers. It might be a good idea to eat those. It will settle your stomach."

"If you say so," Camryn responded. "Do you have an extra toothbrush anywhere?"

"Most likely," Bruce responded as he let go over, put down the toilet cover and had her sit on it as he looked through all the drawers and cabinets. Eventually he found one and got it ready for her. "Here." He helped her back up and handed her the toothbrush.

"Thank you for being so nice to me," Camryn said before she started brushing her teeth. Since it seemed like the bathroom counter was enough for her to lean on, he retreated towards the door, wanting to give her at least a _little_ privacy.

"It's my pleasure," Bruce assured her as Camryn spit into the sink.

"Even though your friends think I'm a whore?" Camryn asked.

"Only one of them is my friend," Bruce answered. "The girl with brown hair. Rachel. I guess you already knew who she was."

"I know who most people are," Camryn responded before she put the toothbrush back into her mouth. She finished cleaning her mouth in silence, and once she was ready, Bruce stepped in, picked her up, and carried her towards his bed.

"You're very light," he remarked.

"Well, I have to be," she answered as he placed her in the bed. "Your arms are very strong." Bruce was about to say that they had to be, but he refrained. Instead he covered her up and handed her the glass of ginger ale.

"Here," he said. She took it and dutifully took a sip. "Eat some of the crackers, too."

"I'm going to get crumbs in your bed," she responded.

"It's not that big a deal," Bruce assured her. "You can sleep on that side in your crumbs. Or I'll just have Alfred change the sheets."

"You're going to actually let me sleep here?" Camryn asked. "While you're in the bed?" Once again her heart started being really quickly and she had to put down the glass of ginger ale.

"Would that bother you?" Bruce asked. "I could sleep somewhere else."

"I think you're just fucking with me," said Camryn. "You'd actually give up your bed for me?"

"You're my guest," Bruce answered as he walked around to the other side of the bed and sat down, leaning against the pillows propped on the headboard. "And if we're being honest, I _want_ you in my bed. You wouldn't be in here if I didn't."

"So you _do _think I'm a whore," Camryn stated as she raised an eyebrow, even though she was sure Bruce couldn't actually see her expression.

"Did I say that?" Bruce asked.

"Are you implying that-"

"I'm not implying anything," Bruce answered. "I don't think I left too much room for misinterpretation. I want you in my bed. Plain and simple."

"What do you want me in your bed for, though?" Camryn persisted.

"If you're really that uncomfortable, you can have your own room," Bruce said to her, hoping that she didn't say she wanted her own room. He liked having her around. There was something comforting about her, and of course she was rather beautiful.

"I don't want my own room," Camryn told him, "it's just that I'm trying to wrap my head around this."

"You shouldn't be trying to wrap your head around anything," Bruce said to her. "It's having a hard enough time as it is. Drink your soda, eat your crackers, and go to sleep."

"Are you going to stay here?"

"Do you want me to?" Bruce asked.

"Yes," Camryn answered.

"Then I'll stay," he answered. "Go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere for a while."

"How long is a while?" Camryn asked as she laid her head down on the pillow, still facing Bruce. She had decided to forgo the soda and crackers and just go to sleep.

"It's hard to say for sure," Bruce answered, "but you're safe here, all right?"

-------------------------------------

Jean-Georges was one of those places where, as soon as you walked in, you immediately felt the need to stand up straighter and speak with perfect grammar. Being that it was the middle of the day, there weren't any customers inside. It was one of those places that only had to be open for dinner because everyone wanted to go there so badly.

Sidney was pretty sure it was the last place that she wanted to work. But, Harvey was convinced that he was doing her a favor and the owner was apparently very interested in having her there. It is, of course, preferred that the people serving the food at a restaurant like this are capable of being models.

Jean-Georges was a rather small man himself, with short dark hair and impossibly thick eyebrows. Harvey introduced him as the owner and the head chef of the restaurant, whose specialty was French cuisine. When he spoke, he had a slight French accent.

"I would love to have you working here, darling," he said to her as he took her hands in his own. "When can you start?"

"Uhmm," Sidney began, "I'm not trying to be a damper or anything, but I don't think fine dining is for me. I've never done it before, and this place seems like it might be a little out of my league."

"Nonsense," said Jean-Georges. "It is easy to learn, you look like you are a smart girl. You come in tonight and we will have someone show you the ropes."

Sidney raised an eyebrow at Harvey, who took it upon himself to answer for her. "She'll be here," he stated. "What time."

"We open at seven," said Jean-Georges, "so I would like her to be here by at least 6:30. White button-down shirt, black trousers, black shoes, hair pulled back. Nothing tight. Minimal make-up, not that you need it darling." He patted her on the shoulder and then turned on his heel and started walking away. "Excuse me, but I am having a problem with a shipment of fish that I was expecting today. I would love to stay here and chat with you, but I have to make sure this gets sorted out. I'll see you tonight, darling."

And then he disappeared into the back of the restaurant.

"I don't want to work here," Sidney said to Harvey as soon as the owner of the restaurant was safely out of earshot.

"Well, just try it out," Harvey suggested. "Come tonight. If you don't like it, you can quit."

"I'm not gonna like it, so I might as well just quit now," Sidney responded.

"Look, I think that I have been a very good sport," Harvey said to her. "You came here without warning, I let you stay in my apartment without hesitation even though my girlfriend is completely livid with me for doing it and despite her wishes to have me kick you out, I continue to let you live there. I know that you don't want to work here, but could at least come tonight so that I can tell Rachel that you are making an effort to get out so she stops being such a bitch? Can you do me this one favor? I don't think I'm being unreasonable."

Sidney was a little taken aback. Harvey had always been very indulgent of her. But she supposed that he did have a point, and most likely one night was not going to kill her. "Fine," she sighed, "but I don't own a white button down shirt, or black pants that aren't tight."

"We're going to have to go and buy these items for you, then," said Harvey. "I'll pay."

"Do you really want me to get out that badly?" Sidney asked. "Because if you don't want me around then-"

"I don't want you to leave, Sidney," said Harvey, "I'm just trying to find a compromise, all right? Rachel doesn't want you living in my apartment, so we have to show her that you're at least _trying_ to move out of it. I don't care how long you stay for, but I do care that Rachel is angry with me at the moment."

"What is her major malfunction?" Sidney asked as she and Harvey got back into the car and Harvey told him to go to 5th Avenue. "It's not like I've made any blatant advances on you."

"She's just being a jealous girlfriend," Harvey responded, "and it definitely doesn't suit her at all. She's not usually like that."

"How long have you two been together?" She asked.

"About four months," he answered.

"It's because that phase where the only thing you two think about is pleasing each other is over," Sidney stated. "Her true colors are starting to come out. Better watch yourself."

"Shut up, you don't know anything about her," Harvey defended Rachel, though he couldn't help but think that there might have been some truth to what Sidney was saying.

"I think I've spent enough time around her to know that she's not really that great of a person," Sidney responded. "Not to mention, you're a lot more attractive than she is." Harvey just shook his head and decided that he was not even going to dignify that one with a response.

"Here is fine," Harvey said to the driver, who then stopped in order to let them out and told them that he would circle the block and try to find a place to park and that they should call him when they wanted him to come and pick them up.

"Armani?" Sidney asked as she looked up at the sign over the large doors.

"Why not?" Harvey asked as he led Sidney into the store.

"I'm probably never going to wear it again after tonight," Sidney reminded him. "There's not really a point on spending that much money on these clothes."

"A white button-down shirt and black trousers are supposedly things that everyone should have in their closet," Harvey said to her.

"I don't see a reason why I would need them," Sidney countered.

"Well, I need a few things, too," Harvey informed her, "so we might as well just kill two birds with one stone. It's not like I have time to drag you wherever you need to go."

"Don't lie," Sidney ordered, "and even if you didn't have time to drag me wherever I needed to go, you would make time for me. Besides, you said that you needed to come here, anyway. So it's really just you dragging me along to where _you_ need to go."

Harvey merely shook his head. "Go and find what you need. I'm going to go look at the jackets." Sidney sighed and went off towards the women's part of the store. There were plenty of white shirts and black trousers to choose from, it's just that she wasn't really interested in wearing any of them. The only reason she wasn't completely disgusted with the whole situation was because she was not expected to pay for any of these articles of clothing. This was good, because when she looked at the price tags she almost threw up.

She tried on many, many combinations of black trousers and white button-down shirts. However, they all looked exactly the same to her – boring. She was just about to give up and tell Harvey that they could spend all day trying to find another job that didn't require her to looks like she had a stick shoved up her ass, when someone familiar came up behind her.

"Very professional," the voice said. Upon turning around, Sidney saw that it was Dr. Crane. "Though a far cry from what you were wearing earlier. This is rather boring in comparison."

"Tell me about it," Sidney agreed. "But Harvey 'did me a favor' and got me a job at Jean-Georges and I start tonight. This is the dress code."

"That's a very good restaurant," Jonathan stated. "And you start tonight? How exciting."

"Not really," Sidney responded.

"Well, I am actually having dinner there tonight with a few associates," Jonathan explained, "and if I get to see you, then it might not be as boring as I originally thought it was going to be."

"Oh really?" Sidney asked. "Well, if you're there then it might not be as awful as I originally thought it was going to be."

"Waitressing not for you?" He asked.

"That's not it," Sidney responded, "it's just that the restaurant is not for me. I'm used to a much more laid back sort of atmosphere."

"Understandable," said Jonathan, "working in a place like that can make one feel very pressured. Undoubtedly, perfection is expected."

"It's not that it would be hard," Sidney corrected, "it would be boring and tiresome. And all of the people who eat there, no offense, are probably stuck up snobs. I'd most likely end up slapping someone, and then I would be fired."

"I'm sure these stuck up snobs tip rather well," said Dr. Crane.

"It doesn't matter," Sidney answered. "I don't think it's worth dealing with them."

"Fair enough," said Jonathan. "Well, I hope to see you later on tonight."

"Me, too," Sidney responded, and was suddenly much less apprehensive about the night ahead.


	5. A Little Tension

Incidentally, Bruce was no longer in the bed when Camryn woke up. It was night, and the tinted covers that had blocked the sun during that day had been lifted from the glass walls. It would have been a stunning view of the city if the bed was facing the giant windows. As it was, Camryn could not fully appreciate it.

"Hello," she croaked, "and then immediately wished that she hadn't. The sound of her own voice was enough to make all of the bells in her head start ringing.

"Good evening," an English accent greeted her, causing her to flinch visibly. "Oh, I'm sorry," he lowered his voice to a whisper. "I brought you some food and a pill."

"Just leave it," she whispered back as she motioned towards the bedside table, where the tray of ginger ale and saltines was still sitting, basically untouched.

"If you take the pill, be sure to eat something," he warned, "or you'll be sick again." Camryn nodded.

"Where is Bruce?" Camryn asked.

"He went to Jean-Georges," Alfred responded.

"With whom?" Camryn demanded, raising one of her eyebrows.

"I forget her name," Alfred answered, "some ballerina from Russia." The look on Camryn's face must have distressed him a little bit because he then went on to explain, "I don't think it is anything serious."

"I have no say over what Bruce Wayne does and does not do," Camryn reminded him. "If he wants to go out with Russian ballerinas, he is perfectly within his rights to do so."

"You're right," Alfred agreed.

"But could you help me get to the guest bedroom? I think I would like to sleep there, tonight."

-----------------------------

Sidney couldn't believe what was happening. She did not want to be at this place, wearing the ridiculous clothing she was wearing, taking the orders of stuck up rich people.

However, when Dr. Crane walked in and was seated in her station, her sprits lifted drastically. Once she served drinks to one of her tables, she then went over to him.

"Good evening," she said, "where are your friends?"

"They all cancelled at the last minute," he answered. "It seemed like shame to waste the reservation and a chance to see you, and so here I am. May I just have a glass of water to begin with?"

"Absolutely," she answered. "I'll be right back with that." And then she practically floated to the kitchen. She quickly grabbed a glass and one of the bottles of Evian. This was another thing that baffled Sidney. At Jean-Georges, they did not just put the water in a glass and then give it to the customers. Oh no, each one of them got their own special glass bottle of French water. Admittedly, the bottles were pretty cool-looking, but it all seemed like a little too much.

As she came out of the kitchen, she looked towards Dr. Crane's table, and then, to her absolute horror, saw that Harvey and Rachel were sitting at the adjacent table.

"Of course that would happen to me," Sidney mumbled to herself. "Why wouldn't this happen?" She got a few strange looks from the people she passed, but when she reached Jonathan's table she was all smiles. "Here you are. Would you like an appetizer? A bottle of wine?"

"I'm still deciding," he answered as he peered at her over the top of his menu. "Is there anything you would recommend?" Sidney narrowed her eyes playfully at him. He knew that tonight was her first night, and she was sure that he was just trying to mess with her. However, she would not be beaten.

"Well, that depends," she responded, "would you like a wine recommendation or an appetizer recommendation?"

"Wine," he answered. She mentally cursed him for picking that one. She at least knew something about appetizers. Not much of a wine drinker, Sidney was at a bit of a loss, so she pulled the name of a wine mentioned by the girl who had given her a mini training session before the dinner service had began.

"Oh, well in that case, I would recommend the Petrus Merlot," Sidney answered with a smug look on her face. _Challenge met,_ she thought to herself.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Jonathan responded. "I'll have a half-bottle, please." Sidney was pretty impressed. Apparently, that wine cost close to one thousand dollars a bottle, so he was just about to shell out five hundred dollars just for the wine. Either he was pretty wealthy, or he was just trying very hard to impress her.

"I'll have that for you in just a moment," she answered, and then she turned to Harvey and Rachel.

"Good evening," she said with an incredibly fake smile, "welcome to Jean-Georges. My name is Sidney and I'll be your server for the evening. Would you like to start off with drinks?" Sidney took one look at Rachel and had to literally clasp her hands together to keep from slapping the smug smirk off her face. She couldn't believe that they had actually come.

"What was the name of that wine you recommended to Dr. Crane?" Bruce Wayne asked as he came up from behind Sidney. "Because I think we would like some of that."

"Good evening, Mr. Wayne," Sidney drawled. It just kept getting better. She stood there as Bruce, his date, Harvey, and Rachel greeted each other and Bruce snapped his fingers at the maître d' and told him to put some tables together. When Bruce mentioned owning the restaurant, she was pretty impressed.

Once they were all situated, Sidney repeated her greeting.

"Make that two bottles of wine," Bruce said when Sidney had repeated her greeting and asked if they would like some drinks to start off with. Then, she trudged back off to the kitchen, checking in with her other tables on the way. As she got back to the kitchen, one of the other waitresses, whose name escaped Sidney at the moment, came up to her.

"You're so lucky! They sat Bruce Wayne in your section," She hissed. "He's so gorgeous."

"He's not bad, I guess," Sidney replied as she continued back towards the wine room. The girl continued to follow her.

"I'd be totally willing to trade sections with you," she stated.

"No," Sidney answered quickly. Of course, she wouldn't mind getting rid of Harvey, Rachel, Bruce, and the girl who was not Camryn. But, if she gave up her section, she would have to give up Dr. Crane's table as well, which was the last thing she wanted to do. "I've got it covered, don't worry."

She grabbed one of the carriers designed for wine, filled it with ice, and put two bottles of the Petrus inside of it. Then, she opened one of the bottles of the same wine, took one of the half-bottles off the shelf, and filled it.

"But, you can go give Bruce Wayne his wine, if it would really give you that much of a thrill," she offered.

"Ah! Thank you!" She exclaimed as she grabbed the bucket and made her way out of the wine room. Sidney smiled and shook her head as she made her way back to Jonathan Crane's table.

"Here you are," she said she picked up his wine glass and proceeded to fill it from the half-bottle decanter. Then, she placed both on the white table cloth with a flourish.

"Thank you very much," he responded. "How is your first night going?"

"It _was_ going fine," she responded, she lowered her voice, "but now I have to wait on Rachel fucking Dawes and it seems like my night is going down the toilet."

Normally, it wasn't protocol to talk about one's customers when they were seated about two feet away, but Sidney couldn't bother to be tactful.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," said Dr. Crane, "if it's any consolation, she doesn't like _me_ very much, either. Granted, I'm not living in her boyfriend's apartment, but she still has her reasons for hating me." Sidney raised an eyebrow. "Word travels pretty quickly."

"Yes, well, Harvey is just a friend," Sidney assured Dr. Crane.

"Harvey's association with you doesn't really matter to me," he stated as he took a sip of his wine. "This is delicious, great selection."

"My pleasure," Sidney responded, "I think I need to go and check on some of my other tables, though."

"By all means," said Jonathan, "I'm sure I'll be ready to order an appetizer by the time you return." Sidney smiled and then turned around to the next table.

"How is the wine?" she asked them.

"Delicious," Bruce responded.

"I'm glad," Sidney stated, "I guess Camryn wasn't feeling well enough to come out? I'm not surprised. She seemed pretty bad when you carried her off to your bed earlier."

"She was," Bruce said, apparently unfazed. "She was still sleeping there when I left. I doubt she'll be fit to be out of bed for at least a week, let alone eat normal food."

"Poor thing," Sidney responded. "Shame how that happened, it's a miracle that they didn't get a chance to kill her."

"Someone said that Batman was the one who got her out of there," Harvey stated, and Sidney left them talking about Batman to go and check on her other tables. Sighing, she made her rounds at the other tables, going as fast as possible without being rude. After bringing some food to one of her tables, she returned to Jonathan's table.

"So, have you decided?" She asked.

"On an appetizer, at least," he responded, "I plan on having every course and maximizing my time here."

"Well, I can't tell you how grateful I am for that," Sidney responded, "the night would have been rather dull without you."

"Glad I could do something for you," Dr. Crane responded.

"Believe me, so am I," Sidney responded. She then wrote down his appetizer order on her little white pad of paper, and then turned around to the next table.

"Have you-" she began.

"What are you doing?" Harvey hissed to her as he looked at Dr. Crane.

"I'm working, sir," Sidney responded, "remember? You helped me get a job here earlier today?"

"You _know_ what I mean," Harvey spat, "you _really_ need to stop flirting with-"

"I'm offended that you would suggest that level of ... unprofessionalism, sir," Sidney interrupted politely. "I was doing nothing of the kind, and even if I _was_ it would be none of your business. Am I right, Rachel?"

"I think even _you_ can do better than Jonathan Crane," Rachel responded, "but it is none of my business." Sidney narrowed her eyes at her.

"Can I get you anything for an appetizer, ma'am?" She asked, instead of giving her the tongue lashing she deserved.

"Yes, we're going to have-" Harvey began in order to keep Sidney from doing something rash. Sidney took both of their appetizer orders and then went back to the kitchen.

"I swear," she said to the closest person near her, "if Rachel fucking Dawes says another word to me tonight other than to order her food, I'm going to knock her block off."

"Oh, I like her," the girl answered, "I think she's really pretty."

"Are you insane?" Sidney asked as she called her order to the chef. "She looks like a pig."

"That's mean," said the girl.

"Really?" Sidney asked. "I wasn't aware." For the moment, all of her tables were taken care of. Two of them had their entrees, two of them had desserts, and the other two had ordered their appetizers and they had their wine. She really wished that she could go and actually sit with Jonathan, but as it was, that was not an option. So, instead, she went to give the two tables with their desserts the bills, and then made her way to Dr. Crane's table.

"Enjoying yourself?" She asked. "You look rather lonely over here all by yourself."

"I can assure you that I'm far from lonely," he responded, not even bothering to speak in a low voice. "I'm just fine watching you." It was quite easy to hear him from the next table over, where Harvey was basically staring at the white table cloth, trying his best to keep his anger under control. If it hadn't been enough that he would have been jealous if it was any man over their flirting with her, she had to add insult to injury by flirting with Jonathan Crane, one of the few people in the world he legitimately hated. He was no better than the criminals he defended, as far as Harvey was concerned.

Sidney knew that Dr. Crane's behavior was a little odd, but try as she might, she couldn't get herself to feel uncomfortable or creeped out. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect on her.

"When do you get off?" He asked.

"At the end of the service," Sidney responded. "Around midnight."

"Well, I'm going to be here until then, so try not to hurry things up too much," he stated, then he looked past her. "I think some of your other customers are waiting for you. Don't worry about me, I'll be right here." Sidney smirked and then started walking towards the couple who were ready to give her their payment. As she walked by him, Harvey reached out for Sidney's arm, but she quickly slid it out of his grip and continued walking like she was on a mission. Once both of the tables that were done were paid for, and another of her tables had ordered their dessert, it was about time for her to bring out the appetizers to her two favorite tables.

"Here we are," Sidney said as she put the tray down next to a stand on the table and handed out the food. "Are you ready to order your entrees?"

"Yes we are," Harvey responded, "and we're also ready for you to _not _encourage Jonathan Crane like that."

"Like what?" Sidney asked, "I'm sure that I don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about. Mr. Wayne, do you have any idea what he means?"

"I'm staying out of this one," Bruce responded.

"Who is that man?" Natasha asked.

"No one," Bruce answered, knowing that would be a perfectly adequate response.

"No one _you_ should be concerned about, anyway," Sidney whispered to Harvey. "I know you hate the guy and all, but you really have no say over who I talk to." Then, she turned from Harvey and went to Jonathan.

As she handed his appetizer down to him, he said, "I wouldn't want to cause any problems between you and Harvey."

"Harvey will be just fine," Sidney assured him.

"I'm glad," he answered. "So, anyway, what I was getting around to was, if you are not too tired after you are done working, if you would like to come out and have a few drinks with me."

Sidney thought this was a wonderful idea, but before she could offer a reply, she heard a chair scraping against the floor rather violently and felt a large mass looming behind her. Her eyes opened so wide she felt like her eyeballs might have fallen out as she turned around to face Harvey.

It wouldn't have been as bad if Jonathan Crane hadn't stood up as well, so that she was standing between two men. One of them looking like he wanted to rip the other's head off, and the other looking like he would be rather amused if he did.

"Whoa," she said automatically as she threw both her hands up. "I think we all just need to calm down." As she said this, the maître d' hustled over.

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?" He asked.

"There's no problem," Bruce said as he stood up as well. "Harvey, sit down. There is no need to cause a scene." This was a moot point, as the scene had already been caused. Every single pair of eyes in the restaurant was on them, and it was dead quiet. "Everything is fine," he said again.

The three men sat back down and it seemed like everything was going to be just fine, but then Rachel Dawes had to open her mouth and offer her two cents.

"I really don't understand why there is such a fuss over this girl," said Rachel, "she's a _waitress_ from LA, for god's sake." Sidney took a deep breath to try and calm herself, but it wasn't working. She turned around slowly, and stared at Rachel, who was smiling smugly back at her, fully aware that Sidney had heard her.

Then, without warning, Sidney threw herself across the table at her, hands aiming for her throat.

It didn't help that everyone was _already_ looking at them, but now there was a big commotion as the table fell over and food and thousand dollar wine spilled all over the place and Rachel's head hit the marble floor with quite a thump. She took a hold of Rachel's neck and started beating her head against the floor.

"SAY THAT AGAIN, YOU STUPID BITCH!" Sidney ordered, knowing that she might have been throwing things a little out of proportion, but it wasn't in her to take blatant disrespect.

Of course, being that Sidney's hands were wrapped tightly around her throat, Rachel wouldn't have been able to say it again if she tried. However, that was when Sidney was pulled off by Bruce Wayne and carried out of the restaurant.

Once they got to the street, Bruce put her down. Both of them were covered with wine and food, but neither seemed to care.

"I think you may have overreacted a little bit," he told her.

"Your friend's a fucking bitch," Sidney told him.

"Granted, she shouldn't have said that," Bruce conceded, "but there was no need to knock the table over. Luckily I own the restaurant, so I can-"

"I really don't need you to save my job," Sidney assured him as, with perfect timing, Jean-Georges himself stormed out of the front door. "In fact, I don't _want_ you to save my job. I don't like it here."

"You are FIRED!" He shrieked. "If you ever step foot in my restaurant-"

"Correction, _my_ restaurant," Bruce corrected him. Then he looked at Sidney, and taking into consideration that Sidney didn't actually like working there, decided to please everyone. "But I will have to agree with Jean, you are never to go in this restaurant again."

Sidney did her best to look upset, as Jonathan Crane walked outside.

"How about those drinks?"


	6. Unexplainable Attachment

"Anywhere but here," Sidney responded as the two of them linked arms and they started walking down the street. "Oh my god, I can't believe that just happened."

"The mind can only take so much before it snaps," he stated, "you had a momentary break down. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Who said I am ashamed?" Sidney asked. "I'd do it again. I mostly can't believe that she is such a bitch. You heard what she said. It was completely uncalled for."

"She feels threatened," Jonathan said to her, "she's trying to display her dominance."

"Yeah, well, that dominance is not going to last very long," Sidney muttered, "I just hope that I still have a place to live when I go back to Harvey's apartment."

"He doesn't seem like the type of person who would kick you out if you had nowhere else to go," he stated, "but if he does, you can always call me and I would be happy to give you a place to stay temporarily."

"Thanks," Sidney responded.

"Where are we going?" Sidney asked.

"A bar. It's not too far from here," he responded, "I was going to take you somewhere nicer, but I don't think you're exactly dressed for it."

Sidney looked down at herself, and she couldn't deny that. She had merlot all down the front of her shirt, along with what seemed to be some sort of sauce … or maybe it was butter. Whatever it was it was all over her, and she wasn't quite sure if she was ready to head back to Harvey's apartment just yet.

"It's not very far," Jonathan said again. "Maybe six or seven blocks."

"That's fine," Sidney responded, "the walking is helping to calm me down."

"I thought that it would," he agreed. They walked in silence for about two blocks before Sidney spoke again.

"I really thought Harvey was going to hit you," Sidney informed him.

"I didn't," he answered, "he wouldn't do that. Not in public, anyway. Harvey Dent has an image to maintain. It wouldn't do if he went around hitting doctors."

"I guess," Sidney agreed.

"You sound disappointed," said Jonathan, laughing slightly, "would you rather that he had hit me?"

"No, not at all," Sidney answered, "that would have been a disaster."

"I think so, too," said Jonathan. That was when they came to the bar. It was a far cry from Jean-Georges, to say the least. The outside looked like a normal, everyday pub. There were a variety of noises and shouts coming from the inside, though. It sounded like there was quite a bit of activity.

"Are you sure about this?" Sidney asked.

"I come here all the time," he answered as he opened the door for her and she walked in. As she did, a few eyes came her way, and Sidney wasn't quite sure if it was because she was one of the few women inside or if she was covered in food. "Come on, let's get you a drink. They'll stop staring in a little bit."

---------------------------

Thoroughly tired, Bruce walked back into his penthouse alone. After the activities of the evening, the last thing Bruce wanted to do was hang around Natasha. She was pretty and everything, but to be quite honest the accent annoyed him, and though he spoke some Russian, it wasn't enough to be able to conduct all conversations _in_ Russian.

"Back so soon, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked as he greeted Bruce at the door and took his jacket.

"There was a small incident at the restaurant," Bruce answered, "it kind of killed the evening, so I just decided to come back. How is Camryn?"

"She's fine," Alfred answered. "She woke up about an hour after you left and then she asked me to help her move to the guest bedroom, so she's sleeping in there."

"Why did she want to go in there?" He asked, slightly taken aback.

"She didn't say, sir," Alfred answered. "Though, if I were to offer my opinion, she seemed a little miffed when I told her that you were out with Miss Natasha."

"Well, why would you tell her that?" Bruce asked.

"She asked where you were, and you weren't out saving the world, so I felt like I couldn't lie to her," Alfred answered. "Besides, I didn't think that it would actually matter to you."

"Of course it matters," Bruce corrected him as he started to untie his tie and walk towards the guest bedroom.

"If you say so, Master Wayne," said Alfred as he broke off and went to the master bedroom instead to turn down the bed.

Bruce opened the door of the guest bedroom silently and peered inside. It didn't seem that she was awake, so he continued. It occurred to him briefly that this might not have been what she wanted, but then decided that it didn't really matter to him. After all, it was his apartment, and he was doing her a big favor by allowing her to live there.

He only wanted one thing in return; that she sleep in his bed with him. He wasn't exactly sure why. It wasn't like he could do anything with her while she was in his bed. Perhaps it was just that it would be easier to watch her if she was right next to him, but that wasn't it. He never worried about anyone breaking into his penthouse, and even if they did, he would be able to get to her faster than any intruder would.

It didn't really matter. Carefully, he picked her up. Her head fell gently against his chest as he carried her, but she didn't wake up.

"Good night, Master Wayne," said Alfred as the two of them passed each other. Alfred was quite impressed with his foresight to turn both sides of the bed down.

------------------------------

"You come here _all the time?"_ Sidney asked Jonathan. She was almost finished with her drink, and, as much as she liked Dr. Crane's company, she didn't really want to stay for another one. The people around her were starting to really freak her out, and Jonathan didn't exactly look like someone who would be good in a fight.

"Not to drink, though. I find it rather interesting," Jonathan answered, "the minds of criminals are by far the most intriguing. I mean, if everyone were sane I wouldn't have a job."

"If everyone were sane, the world would probably be a much safer place," Sidney replied.

"But a boring one," he quickly countered.

"Point," Sidney conceded.

"You look uncomfortable," he observed.

"I am," she responded bluntly. "I'm not gonna lie, this place is pretty scary. And it's not exactly reassuring that you are not drinking. It's possible that you and bartender have some partnership. You bring the girls in, he helps you drug them-"

"If I had drugged you, you wouldn't be speaking to me right now," Jonathan assured her as he took out his wallet and put some money on the bar, "but if you really want to leave, I have no problem taking you. I suppose you'd like to go back to Harvey's apartment."

"I suppose," Sidney responded. "I mean, I have to talk to him some time, and it's not as if it will get any better if I wait."

"I think that is wise," Jonathan agreed. The two of them stood up and they proceeded out of the bar. Everyone, it seemed, watched them as they left, and once they were outside, Sidney took a deep breath.

"Ah, yes, that is much better," she murmured.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you would be so-"

"Don't apologize," Sidney cut him off as Jonathan flagged down a cab. "Thank you. I just needed a quick minute to recollect myself."

"You have a rather nice challenge ahead of you," said Jonathan, "Harvey Dent is a stubborn man. Though I suppose he has to be." They got inside and Sidney gave the driver Harvey's address. The ride back to Harvey's apartment was silent, but when the driver stopped, Jonathan spoke as he turned to Sidney.

"I would really like to spend more time with you," he informed her.

"I wouldn't mind that," Sidney assured him.

"You have my number," he said to her. Then, before she could respond, he kissed her lightly. "Good night." Sidney, rather surprised, murmured good night and got out of the car.

In a bit of a daze, she rode up the elevator and ambled out once the doors opened. To her surprise, before she could even get to the door, it was ripped open. Harvey Dent was staring out at her, looking extremely pissed off.

"Where have you been?" He demanded as he dragged her into the apartment. "Bruce told me that you left with Crane."

"I did," Sidney responded. "I was upset, and he and Bruce were the only people who followed me outside. Being that Bruce was already occupied with a date, Jonathan offered to take me to get a drink."

"And you went," Harvey said. It was more a statement than a question.

"Yes, I did," she answered, "and I feel much better now. Or rather, I did feel much better, but I don't like the tone you are taking with me."

"You don't like the tone that I'm taking with you?" Harvey repeated. "You don't like my tone …" he turned his back on her and put his hands on his hips, trying very hard to keep control over himself, but it was no use. He had to do damage to something. Looking at Sidney, he decided that was most likely not a good idea. Instead, he picked up a nearby lamp and hurled it across the room. With a deafening, crash, it shattered against the wall and fell to the floor in hundreds of tiny pieces. "How's that for tone?"

"I think that you should probably go to bed," said Sidney as she tried to walk past him, "I don't want to talk to you when you're like this."

"You don't get to make that choice," said Harvey as he grabbed Sidney around the bicep and pulled her towards him. "Do you have _any_ idea what you put me through tonight, Sidney? Jonathan Crane is a _complete_ scum bag. I will _not_ allow you-"

"Allow me?" Sidney demanded, becoming angry. "Allow me to _what?_"

"I will not allow you to see or speak to him ever again," Harvey responded bluntly.

"And just how are you going to keep me from doing that?" Sidney asked.

"I don't know," Harvey responded, "I'll chain you to my toilet if I have to."

"I CAN'T believe that you're being such a jerk!" Sidney exclaimed as she wrenched herself out of his grip. "Stop pretending that you give a flying fuck. You have a _girlfriend_, who, by the way, hates my guts even though I really haven't done anything to her or to you for that matter. At least not blatantly-"

"You think I don't care?" Harvey asked. "If I really didn't care about what you did, you would not be living here right now. I would have listened to Rachel and told you that you needed to find a hotel because this wasn't going to work out. But here you are. What does that say to you?"

"That you haven't _completely_ changed since I left," Sidney answered. "I really don't see why this matters. Like, I know you hate the guy and everything, but he's really not that bad. I mean, he's just doing his job-"

"Don't you dare start defending him," Harvey ordered.

"Will you stop being such an ASSHOLE?" Sidney suggested. "It's really not cool."

"I'm NOT being an asshole," Harvey responded. "THIS is me being an asshole." He advanced on Sidney and shoved her against the wall, pinning her there.

"Get. Off!" She grunted. She continued to struggle against him, but he was bigger and much stronger than she was, and he didn't even seem like he was trying to hold her there. He was just staring at her with the strangest expression on his face. It was so odd that Sidney stopped herself, and just looked up at him, confused.

And then suddenly, his mouth was on hers and there wasn't really anything she could do about it. At first, she wanted to protest, but that urge didn't last long, and soon as was just as pushy as he was.

They staggered across his living room, running into furniture, knocking things over, and hitting walls. Harvey, using his hands, was finally able to navigate their way towards his bedroom, lips still attached.

There were a zillion things racing through Sidney's mind. Foremost of them was the thrill of victory. After all, this did mean victory for her. Along with the feelings of excitement that normally come along with these types of situations, she felt rather smug.

Harvey's thoughts were in a different place entirely, and as he laid her down on his bed, he was very conflicted. There was Rachel, whom he did love very much, at least he was pretty sure that he loved her. But when Sidney came back into his life, she threw everything in disorder, and feelings that he had had for the past four months quickly vanished and replaced by something else.

Rachel was safe and comforting. She was always there, steady. Their relationship was something natural and easy. It was by no means dull, but it was nothing compared to the hunger he felt gnawing on his insides at that very second. The passion he was feeling at the moment totally eclipsed any feelings he had for Rachel.

And that's when he decided that he didn't care.


	7. Don't Get Too Attached

Not waking up where one fell asleep is always a rather odd sensation, no matter where one is upon waking. Camryn was no exception to this rule, and when she woke up once again in Bruce Wayne's bed, she was a little puzzled. The room was dark, but that didn't mean anything. It could have been noon and the room would have looked the same.

She turned over and flung her hand outward, not expecting to hit anything. Imagine her surprise when her hand ran into something very solid.

"_Unf_," Bruce groaned as he woke up. "What was that for?"

"Sorry!" Camryn exclaimed, "I didn't think that you would be in here."

"Why not?" He asked as he glanced at the digital clock a few feet away from him. "It's 3:30 am and you're in my bed. Where else would I be?"

"Well, when I fell asleep, I was in my own bed," Camryn responded. "Or at least I was in a bed that was not yours."

"Fair enough," Bruce conceded.

"Why did you bring me back in here?"

"You sound upset."

"I'm not going to lie, I'm a little confused," Camryn answered. "I went in my own bed so that I could give you and your lady friend some privacy."

"If I had planned on bringing her home with me, I wouldn't have left you in my bed," Bruce reasoned. "You could have stayed where you were. I brought you back here for two reasons. One of them being the light situation, and the other being I like I having you in my bed." As he said this, Bruce shuffled a little closer to her and threw an arm over her. Camryn let him since she felt a little better because Bruce said he hadn't planned on bringing Natasha home in the first place. "You feel nice and you look good in my pajamas."

"Speaking of clothes, I'm going to be needing my own," Camryn reminded him.

"What for?" He asked. "It's not like you're going anywhere any time soon."

"Well, all of my worldly belongings are in a hotel," Camryn explained, "and I'm pretty sure my reservation ran out yesterday. Sal isn't likely to be renewing it. There is about … I dunno, ten grand worth of clothes and shoes in that hotel room and I'm having bad dreams about the awful things that could happen to them."

"I'll have Alfred go and retrieve them," Bruce assured her as he pulled her closer and slid his other arm underneath her, "and if anything bad has happened to them, I'll replace them." This made Camryn feel better instantly.

"So, how was dinner?"

"Eventful," Bruce responded in a voice that she he didn't really want to talk about it, and would much rather go back to sleep. After all, it was rare that he actually got a full night's rest, and he wanted to take advantage of it.

"What happened?" Camryn persisted. Bruce sighed.

"Well," he began, "do you remember that girl who was here with Rachel and Harvey yesterday? The one with the red hair?"

"Oh the really pretty one?" Camryn asked.

"That's the one," Bruce responded, "well, Harvey got her a job at Jean-Georges, and it so happened that she was our waitress for the evening. And Jonathan Crane was sitting at the table directly next to us all by himself, so Sidney was his waitress, too. The two of them were flirting shamelessly and Harvey really hates that guy. So, it got to the point where he couldn't take it anymore and he looked like he was about to punch the guy in the face. And I mean really, he actually stood up and looked like he was about to hit him. It didn't help that Crane stood up, too."

"Oh my!" Camryn exclaimed. "I miss _everything_!"

"Anyway, I got Harvey to calm down. He was sitting at the same table as Natasha and me. But, right after I had gotten everyone to calm down, Rachel made a comment and Sidney jumped over the table and tried to kill her," he finished.

"Ha!" Camryn barked. "That's fucking hilarious. I can't believe I missed that." She now felt the need to call that girl and congratulate her for her victory. Maybe she would give her a present.

"It really wasn't all that great," Bruce assured her. "Food and wine spilled everywhere. Stained one of my favorite suits."

"You can buy another one," Camryn assured him.

"I know," Bruce agreed as he pulled her right against his chest and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Can we go back to sleep, now?"

"But what happened after that?" Camryn insisted. Bruce sighed again.

"Sidney got fired and left with Crane. I paid the bill, took Natasha to her hotel, and then I came here, saw that you weren't in my bed, scolded Alfred for telling you where I was, brought you back _into_ my bed, and went to sleep."

"What, you didn't want me to know?"

"No, not really," Bruce responded, "I was counting on you to stay asleep until I got back."

"Well, it's not like I could have been reasonably angry at you," Camryn reminded him.

"I know," Bruce responded, "but you could have been _unreasonably_ angry with me, and that would have been much worse."

"Why does it matter?"

"Why would I want you to be angry with me?" Bruce asked. "If you were angry with me, we wouldn't be doing this, and I quite like this."

"Then why did you even bother going out with Natasha?" Camryn inquired. "From what you're telling me, you don't even like her."

"Not really," Bruce confirmed.

"Then what was the point?"

"I needed to go out with _someone_," he answered. "I would have looked ridiculous if I had gone by myself."

"Why couldn't you just stay here?"

"Because you talk too much," Bruce groaned, "now go back to sleep." He kissed her on the forehead and then nestled his head into the pillow. "Good night."

------------------------------

Sidney was in a complete state of bliss as she flitted around the kitchen the next morning. It wasn't like her to cook breakfast, and she wasn't exactly doing a very good job with it, but she had to do _something_ with herself or she was going to explode.

"What are you doing?" Harvey asked as he entered the kitchen area. Whatever Sidney was making, he was determined not to eat any, but she did have some coffee going.

"Well, it was supposed to be an omelet," Sidney responded as she looked down at the pan in front of her, "but I guess that it's scrambled eggs, now."

"And what inspired you to do this?" He asked.

"Well, when I woke up, you were in the shower and I needed to do _something_. I took a shower and got dressed and you were still getting ready, so I decided to cook you breakfast." Harvey laughed and kissed her on the forehead.

"A lovely gesture, but I don't think cooking is your forte."

"No, it's not," Sidney agreed as she turned off the stove. "But it's the thought that counts."

"If you want some breakfast, we can go and buy some," Harvey said to her.

"That'd be really nice," Sidney agreed. There was an awkward silence that followed as Sidney went about dumping her botched attempt into the trash. Finally, Harvey spoke.

"Look … about last night-" he began.

"I know, you don't want me to tell Rachel," Sidney finished for him.

"I really don't," Harvey agreed, "I know that you don't like her, but she deserves much better than what happened last night."

"Are you planning on telling her at all?" She asked.

"I'm not sure yet," he responded, "but if I do, I want it to be me that does it. Not you. Understand?"

"Clearly," Sidney answered, nodding. "I'm going to do my best not to talk to her at all."

"That would probably be best," Harvey agreed. "It's going to be bad enough when I tell her that I haven't kicked you out. She's expecting you to be living in the streets."

"Well, that would never happen," said Sidney. "Bruce Wayne told me that I could live in his penthouse yesterday." She decided that it would be best if she didn't mention Jonathan Crane's offer. "But don't worry, I can be tactful."

"So, what are your plans for the day?" Harvey asked her as he grabbed his briefcase. "I'm sorry, but I can't follow you around everywhere. You can take the car if you want, though."

"Probably I'm going to go look for a job that I can actually live with," Sidney responded. "And you don't have to give me the car. I think that I can manage on my own." The two of them left so that they could go and get breakfast. As they were getting into the elevator, Sidney's phone started ringing. It was a number that she didn't recognize, but she answered anyway.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hey, girl!" Exclaimed the voice on the other end of the line. "It's Camryn. The sick girl from yesterday."

"Oh, hi!" Sidney responded. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," Camryn responded, "but that is neither here nor there. I heard that you almost killed Rachel Dawes."

"She deserved it," Sidney defended herself.

"I'm sure she did," Camryn agreed. "I hate that bitch." It occurred briefly to Camryn that she should feel bad about that statement, seeing as she had only ever met Rachel the once. But that meeting had been rather enough to get an accurate judge of character, she thought. Not to mention, she had touched Bruce Wayne's knee.

"She's completely disgusting," Sidney agreed.

"Well, I really just wanted to call you to say congratulations," said Camryn, "once I can walk again we should hang out. Anyone who will leap across a table in public to try and strangle a complete bitch is good in my book."

"Sounds good," Sidney agreed.

"Excellent," Camryn responded. "Ciao ciao!"

"Uhm … bye," Sidney responded, and then Camryn hung up.

"Who was that?" Harvey asked as they hit the street.

"The girl from yesterday," Sidney responded, "She wanted to congratulate me for beating Rachel up. Did I do any legitimate damage to her?"

"Her head hurts a little, but other than that, no," Harvey responded. "At least not that I saw last night, but sometimes it can take a while for bruises to develop."

"I hope she has bruises," Sidney mumbled.

"Sidney …" Harvey warned.

"What?" Sidney responded. "Don't say she didn't deserve it, because she definitely did. She was being unnecessarily mean when I didn't even do anything to her but ask her for her order."

"If she didn't deserve it, I would have kicked you out," Harvey assured her. "What do you want to eat."

"Hash browns!" Sidney exclaimed. "I haven't had any since I got here."

"All right," Harvey responded, and the two of them turned into a diner. "Hash browns it is."

As they walked in, they were told by one of the waitresses to sit down wherever they chose, so they did.

"Are you scared?" Sidney asked.

"Of what?" Harvey asked as he looked at a menu.

"Of telling Rachel that you haven't kicked me out of your apartment," Sidney asked.

"I'm hoping that she won't ask about it and then I won't have to talk about it," Harvey responded. "So I guess that means I'm a little scared."

"I don't think you should be scared," said Sidney, "you should calmly tell her that if she wasn't such a bitch, she wouldn't have had to deal with me last night."

"That is what I plan on saying," Harvey said, still not looking up at her, "just … not that exact wording. Look, let me handle Rachel, all right? You just do your best to avoid her."

"As long as she leaves me alone, I will leave her alone," said Sidney, "I mean, I'm already making friends, so it's not like there is any excuse for me to follow you _everywhere_ anymore."

"I'm glad you feel that way," said Harvey, "because things would have gotten a little hairy if you were still doing that. Don't get me wrong, I love your company, but-"

"You don't have to explain," said Sidney as the waitress came to them, "I totally get it. I'd be a little annoyed if you just dropped yourself in LA and followed me around everywhere, too. Maybe I should work here."

"No," Harvey said in response before he ordered his food. Sidney ordered hash browns and a glass of apple juice.

"You're still just like a little kid," he said with a smirk. "Apple juice?"

"It's very good for you," Sidney informed him.

"No it's not," Harvey responded. Sidney just shook her head. "So, about Crane."

"What about him?" Sidney asked.

"I meant what I said," Harvey continued, "I don't want you to see him."

"OK, how about this," Sidney suggested as she leaned forward. "If I can't see Jonathan anymore, you can't see Rachel anymore."

"That's definitely not fair," Harvey responded, "I've been dating Rachel for four months."

"And I'm not even dating Jonathan," Sidney answered, "who cares? If I can't see him, you can't see her. If you're really serious about him, you'll break up with her as soon as you see her today. If not, then I'm sorry but I'm not going to stop seeing Jonathan, because _that_ would be unfair."

"It's completely different," Harvey informed her, "Rachel is actually a good person and the only reason you don't want me seeing her is because you want me to see you. But on top of not wanting you to see Crane because I want you all to myself, I really think the guy is one of the worst people in the world and you can only do harm to yourself by being around him."

"I don't know, he's been pretty nice," Sidney corrected him, "I mean, he and Bruce were the ones who followed me out of the restaurant last night, not you."

"That's because you attacked my girlfriend," Harvey reminded her, "and the only reason Bruce was out there with you was because he _carried_ you out there. He's an asshole, he wouldn't have gone out there to see how you were."

"You don't like anyone, do you?" Sidney asked.

"To be honest, no, I don't like many people. And Jonathan Crane is one of the people I hate the most," He confirmed.

"Well, my offer still stands," Sidney stated, "if you want me to stop seeing Jonathan, you stop seeing Rachel. Until then, I'm sorry, but there's really not much that you can do about it."

"You're so fucking stubborn …" Harvey trailed off, "there's nothing else I could do to persuade you?"

"Nope," Sidney answered. Harvey sighed. He was just going to have to deal with it for a little while, then. There was no way he was just going to be able to walk into to work and tell Rachel that it was over. Sure, her behavior the night before had been atrocious, but that wasn't like her at all. She was a good person who deserved to be handled with dignity and respect.

"Fine," he stated, "but as SOON as I break up with her, you're done with him."

"Fine," Sidney echoed. "See, I am not an unreasonable person. I am perfectly capable of compromise."

"Uh-huh …" Harvey trailed off.

"I could have just said no period," Sidney reminded her.

"True," Harvey agreed, "but then I could just stay with Rachel _and _you."

"I don't think Rachel would be down with that," said Sidney, "Jonathan, on the other hand, probably wouldn't mind sharing me with you." Sidney wasn't sure if this was true or not, but she felt like she had to say it anyway.

"Even if he doesn't, I do," Harvey responded. "So, don't get too attached."


	8. A Party is Crashed

"Rachel, you know that I am always on your side," Bruce told her over the phone, "but you know I am always going to be honest with you. You deserved to have her jump across the table and try to kill you. That was very unlike you, I was shocked."

"You don't know that girl, Bruce!" Rachel exclaimed. She was walking into the office. "She is _deliberately _awful to me at all times."

"She wasn't being too awful last night," said Bruce, "as I recall, you were the only one being mean. I saw those looks you were giving her."

"Bruce!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Look, I can't talk about this right now," said Bruce, "especially since it involves you and Harvey. You know how I feel about that. I'm assuming that you are coming to the fundraiser I'm having for Harvey tomorrow night?"

"You were serious about that?" Rachel asked.

"Of course I was serious about that," Bruce responded, "I wouldn't say I was going to do it if I didn't actually plan on it. You're coming, right?"

"Of course I'm going to go if Harvey goes," Rachel responded, "unless he decides to bring _Sidney_ instead."

"You're both invited," Bruce assured her.

"Thanks, Bruce," Rachel said sarcastically.

"Camryn likes her," Bruce stated. "She said she wasn't going to come out of my bedroom unless I invited her."

"It seems like both of the men in my life are for some odd reason attached to complete bitches," Rachel thought out loud.

"Does that make you a bitch, too?" Bruce asked.

"No, that means that I am the only sane one in this situation," Rachel corrected him. "I'll see you tomorrow." And then she hung up. Bruce shook his head at his cell phone, and then closed it.

"You look frustrated," said a voice from the direction of his bedroom. He turned his head to see Camryn leaning against the door jamb.

"You look like you can walk on your own," Bruce said, sounding rather impressed.

"I wouldn't exactly call it _walking_," Camryn responded. "It's more like throwing myself from steady objects and hoping I get to the next one before I topple over. But it's better than nothing. As much as I love being carried everywhere by you, I don't want you to get bored with it."

"Impossible," Bruce assured her. "And I had Alfred go and get your clothes. He put them in the guest bedroom."

"He's wonderful!" Camryn stated. "And … uhm, I don't mean to be vulgar anything, but I kinda need to bathe and my bathroom only has a stand up shower."

"You're welcome to anything in my apartment," Bruce assured her. "If you need my help, let me know."

"So, uhm … about this party tomorrow," Camryn began.

"You're going to need something to wear," Bruce stated.

"My sentiments exactly," Camryn responded.

"If you're up to it, you can take one of my cards and go shopping."

"Really?" Camryn asked, completely shocked.

"Really," Bruce answered as he started going through a pile of mail which Alfred had left on the coffee table for him to look through. "Obviously, though, shopping would require walking."

"I think that it is completely possible for me to make this work," Camryn responded as she turned around and started staggering towards Bruce's bathroom. "Thanks!" She called over her shoulder.

Having an inner ear problem is a weird feeling. Camryn's legs felt fine. She knew that they were perfectly capable of working and holding her up. No, those weren't the problem. It was just that the room kept rocking back and forth. If it would just stay still for a minute, she would be able to get where she needed to go.

As it was, the room was quite intent doing what it was doing, and she was once again on the floor.

"For some reason, I'm a little apprehensive about leaving you in water by yourself," Bruce said to her. "I need to take a shower, too."

"With me?" Camryn asked.

"That was the idea," Bruce responded as he carried her into the bathroom.

"Uhm …" Camryn trailed off.

"That is, unless you don't want to," said Bruce. "Obviously I'm not going to make you take a shower with me. That would be very wrong. But I'm in if you are."

Bruce sat her down next to the sink and took his shirt off. The first thing she noticed was that his arms were covered with marks and scars, but they only distracted her momentarily. He was a beautifully made person. There was not an ounce of fat on him, and when he removed his shirt, Camryn was sure that she had never seen anything more magnificent. His muscles curved gracefully as they pushed and pulled their corresponding limbs so that Bruce could remove his socks. It only took a moment of looking at those amazing shoulders to help her decide.

"I'm in."

---------------------------------

"Oh! That sounds fun!" Sidney exclaimed when Rachel told Harvey about the fundraiser Bruce was going to be throwing for him the following night. "I need to get something to wear! I'm invited, right?"

"Unfortunately," Rachel responded. She was sitting at her desk. Sidney had decided to come inside momentarily with Harvey before she left to go and find another job. Sidney gracefully ignored her and then looked at Harvey, who then sighed, went into his wallet, and gave her a credit card.

"Please, nothing too out of control," he asked.

"Ah! Thank you!" Sidney exclaimed as she stood on her toes to kiss Harvey on the cheek.

"Bring it back to me when you're done," he called as she bounced out of the office.

"I can't believe that you just did that," Rachel muttered. "And I also can't believe that you still acknowledge her existence."

"I maintain that you were very rude last night and I cannot be mad at her because of that," Harvey stated. "If you were undeserving, it would be another story, but you were completely out of line." Rachel scoffed.

"And I'm going to have to deal with her all night tomorrow," she sighed. "I swear, if she comes within three feet of me I'm going to-"

"She is going to leave you alone as long as you leave her alone," Harvey cut her off, "she and I already had a talk about this, and as long as you stop being completely ridiculous, she will not hit you again."

------------------------------

Camryn was sitting down. She had managed to make her way into the building, but upon getting there, there was no way she was going to stay on her feet. However, after waving Bruce Wayne's credit card around, she discovered that there was no need to be on her feet, and that there was a whole army of personal shoppers are her disposal. She was settled quite comfortably in a plush chair with a glass of water in her hand, looking at dresses as they paraded past her.

"Stop!" She exclaimed, and everyone froze, afraid that they had done something offensive. But Camryn was looking past them, at a girl who was walking around the dress department. "Sidney? Is that you?"

Sidney looked up and saw sitting in the chair, surrounded by people shoving dresses at her.

"Hey," she said with a smile as she walked over. "I suppose you're shopping for the party tomorrow?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am," said Camryn. "Would you like to join me? This is pretty wonderful." She snapped her fingers at a girl standing nearby. "Bring another chair for her. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Uhm … apple juice?" she answered tentatively.

"Someone bring this girl some apple juice," she commanded, and immediately two people hopped to the task. As far as they knew, there was no apple juice in the store, so they were going to have to go out and get it. "This is probably the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. What is your dress size and what are you looking for?"

Sidney looked at all of the dresses which were being shown to Camryn. All of them were floor-length, but other than that rather simple with a few embellishments on the neck or hem or sleeves. All of these things would look fine on Camryn, who was quite tall, but she was pretty sure she would not be able to pull any of these things off.

"I'm a two," she answered, "and something short … like, above my knees. A light color. No sleeves." The girl standing closest to them repeated Sidney's demands into a headset as someone else brought her a chair. Sidney sat down.

"I could definitely get used to this," Camryn informed her. "It's kind of great."

"Agreed," Sidney responded as she leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs.

"So, tell me something," Camryn began, keeping her eyes on the dresses, none of which were particularly interesting, "about this Rachel girl. Does she, like, have a thing on the side going with Bruce?"

"As far as I know, she's _all_ about Harvey, unfortunately," she answered. "It's very annoying, seeing as I'm pretty sure he's the perfect man for me. And she's _impossible_ to get rid of. I mean, I slept with Harvey last night, and he still does not want to just dump her."

"Oh, get it, girl!" Camryn exclaimed. "I'm impressed. He doesn't seem like the type who would cheat on his girlfriend."

"He's really not," Sidney agreed, "it's just that I think I am a special case." As she said this, a few people came with dresses for her, and she turned her head to them. "I'm really not entirely sure what he sees in Rachel. She's really ugly."

"And annoying," Camryn added, "though she is supposedly a good lawyer."

"Who cares?" Sidney asked. "It can't be that hard to be a lawyer. I mean, I could go and fight with people all day. It wouldn't be that hard."

"You're probably right," Camryn agreed. "Oh! I like that one!" The one she was talking about was a simple silver sheath dress, but it had an embellished halter neck. "That's beautiful. I want to try that on."

"I'm glad to see that you're walking, now," Sidney observed.

"I'm not, really," she stated, "but it's enough. My body is fine, it's the equilibrium thing that I'm having a problem with. As long as I'm holding on to something, I'm good." She snapped her fingers at one of the men and motioned for him to help her stand up. He did so and then escorted her to the dressing room. Once she was inside, he closed the door for her. "I just hope that I'm better by tomorrow, because I know of the perfect pair of shoes for this dress, and the heels are killer. But I suppose that if I'm not, I can just stay seated the whole time. It would be a shame, though the overall effect would be ruined.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Sidney assured her, not taking her eyes off of the multitude of dresses being shown to her. "If you can't stand on your own, I'm sure that Bruce would be more than willing to let you hang onto him all night."

"You think so?" Camryn asked. "I dunno, I don't think he would be that into me in front of all his friends."

"Why'd you say that?" Sidney asked. "I was only sitting there for like ten minutes and I could see that he's totally … besotted. He barely took his eyes off of you."

"Besotted …" Camryn rolled the word around in her mouth as she finally got the last of her clothes off and started sliding the dress on, which was rather difficult as she head to lean against the wall to continue standing. "I like that word. But I dunno … I mean, he's Bruce Wayne. Women throw themselves at him."

"Obviously none of them have interested him so far," Sidney stated, and then she saw it, the exact dress she wanted. It ivory with an empire waist accentuated by a wide gold waistband and the skirt was made a light tulle which floated gently downwards. "I like that one! Let me see that." Determined not to look at the price tag, she took it into the dressing room with her. "But you have."

"I can't imagine why," Camryn responded as she carefully opened the door and stepped out. The man who had closed the door helped her out. He then escorted her to the 180 degree mirror so that she could get a good look at herself in the dress. "Oh my gosh, this is gorgeous. I'm taking this dress." She turned to the girl with the headset. "On my way in, I saw a pair of silver peep-toe Christian Louboutin pumps. Bring them to me in a size eight and a half … and also a nine, just in case. Please." The woman murmured into her headset and Camryn went back into her dressing room to take it off.

"What do you mean, you can't imagine why?" Sidney asked. She didn't even have to walk out of the dressing room to know that this was the dress she was going to wear. She only needed the one mirror, and she needed no other opinion. She silently thanked her parents for her genes, because she was rather pleased with how well the dress went with her hair. Burgundy and gold always went well together.

"I don't know," Camryn responded, "I mean … it's not like I'm anything extraordinary. Until a few days ago I was basically a mobster's personal whore."

"And now you're not," Sidney responded, not quite ready to get out of the dress.

"I just hope he doesn't think that I'm going to be _his_ personal whore," Camryn responded. "I mean … not that I would _mind …_ but I dunno, it'd be a little disappointing, especially when Harvey dumps Rachel for you and she goes running to Bruce and I have to deal with her. Probably I won't even have a chance when that happens."

"What makes you think that will happen?" Sidney asked. "As far as I know, Rachel and Bruce are just friends."

"You haven't been around Gotham long enough," Camryn informed her as she finally managed to get out of the dress and put it back on the hanger. "Of course, none of this had been confirmed, but there were some rumors about Bruce and Rachel. And they've been friends since childhood so it's not hard to believe. And apparently, for some reason which continues to escape me, males are attracted to her."

"I don't really get it, either," Sidney agreed as she finally unzipped the back of the dress. "But it doesn't really matter, because I beat the shit out of her last night. She's definitely afraid of me, now."

"Still really mad that I missed that," Camryn murmured. "Well, you've dealt with her, and now I just need to figure out how I'm going to do it."

"Who says that you're going to have to?" Sidney asked.

"Let's think about this logically," Camryn responded as she emerged from the dressing room. "If you were one of Bruce Wayne's closest friends, and you had just broken up with your boyfriend, where would you go for support?"

"Hm, I can see your dilemma there," Sidney concurred. Obviously, she was able to undress herself much more quickly than Camryn, so she got out of the dressing room shortly after. She sat back down in her chair, which now had a small table with a glass of apple juice on it. She couldn't help by laugh. "Maybe you it won't happen that way, though."

"Oh, trust me, it will," Camryn assured her, "and for some reason, I don't think Bruce would forgive me for beating her up like Harvey did for you."

----------------------------------

Rather than walk back to Harvey's office, Sidney hitched a ride with Camryn, who had a town car provided by Bruce. Once it stopped in front of his office, she kissed Camryn on the cheek before sliding off the seat with all of her shopping bags.

"That was fun," she stated. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Later!" Camryn exclaimed as the driver opened the door for her and she got out of the car, a slight bounce to her step. After all, she didn't really have many reasons to be unhappy. She had the man she had came here for, she was pretty sure she had succeeded in beating Rachel into submission, and she had about $1500 worth of clothing and accessories in her hands. It was a good day.

"And she's back …" Rachel groaned as Sidney walked through the doors.

"Yes, I am," Sidney agreed, "and it was a _blast._ I met up with Camryn, the girl from yesterday. She's such a sweetheart, shame you two didn't hit it off." Rachel didn't even bother answering.

Harvey, hearing that Sidney was back, emerged from his office. "I'm guessing you had fun?" He asked.

"Tons," Sidney answered as she went into her purse, pulled out Harvey's credit card, and gave it back to him. "Thank you so much. I'll pay every cent back."

"Don't worry about it," Harvey assured her, waving his hand in dismissal as he went to put his credit card back in his wallet. "So, you were talking to Camryn? Best friends now?"

Sidney shrugged. "She's fun."

"Do you think you might be able to get her to talk to me without throwing a temper tantrum?" he asked.

"I don't know," Sidney responded, "it seems like she's kind of prone to them. Very dramatic. She's used to having her way, it looks like. But to be honest, I really don't think she knows about anything more than what she saw. We talked about it."

"What did she say?" Harvey demanded, getting a little excited. Even Rachel perked up a bit and listened.

"Nothing, really," Sidney responded. "At least nothing you hadn't heard before. She said it wasn't really odd for Sal to do that because when she thought about it, they had gone to Blu a lot of times to meet Sal's associates, and they always ended up disappearing mysteriously after that."

"I don't know why we thought she could help us," Rachel murmured, "the whores aren't usually privy to useful information."

"Haven't you already learned what happens when you talk shit?" Sidney asked. Rachel just looked away. "Anyway, I just wanted to come and give you your credit card. Off to find another job, now."

"Be careful out there," Harvey said seriously, "stay in crowded places and pay attention to what's going on around you."

"All right _dad_," Sidney murmured, "would you like me to call you every fifteen minutes, too?"

"Honestly, I wouldn't mind that," Harvey responded. He kissed her on the cheek and then she left again. Rachel stared at her back for a moment, and then turned to Harvey with a look of complete disgust.

"What?" He asked.

"Don't you 'what' me," Rachel responded, "you know exactly what." Harvey just shook his head and walked back into his office. He wasn't in the mood for fighting with anyone at the moment, least of all Rachel.

----------------------------------

"You look nervous," Sidney said to Harvey as she stood in the elevator with him and Rachel. They were getting ready to make their entrance at the party, and Harvey looked like he would rather be anywhere else than where he was.

"I _am_ nervous," he confirmed as the elevator doors slid open and they looking into the penthouse, which was already full of people. "Oh god."

"You'll be fine," Rachel assured him as she linked arms with him and started walking into the room. "This is nothing compared to what you deal with on a day to day basis."

"Uh-uh," Harvey corrected her as he shook his head. That was when Alfred walked up to him with a tray full of champagne.

"A little liquid courage, sir?" He asked. The three of them each took a glass and continued into the room. Sidney was scanning the room, looking for Camryn, and immediately spotted her. She was certainly hard to miss, probably the tallest woman in the room, and she was even standing up, which was impressive.

"I'm gonna go say hi to Cam," Sidney stated as she left Harvey's side.

"Hey girl!" Camryn exclaimed as she saw Sidney crossing the room. She excused herself from the group of people she was talking to and walked towards her as well, but very carefully. If she in flats, she would only be having small problems, as it was, her heels were pretty high and the rooms hadn't completely stopped rocking yet. "Thank god you're here. These people are boring as hell." She put down her empty glass on one of the trays carried by a server passing by.

"Where's Bruce?" Sidney asked as she looked around. "I mean, I figured he'd be here, seeing as he is throwing the party."

"I'm wondering the same thing," Camryn responded, "but only on the 'where is he' part. He's always fashionably late, even to his own parties. He left here a few hours ago and I haven't seen him since." Suddenly, the sound of a helicopter was heard from above. "That's probably him."

"About time," Sidney murmured as she looked towards the elevator, waiting for it to open and for Bruce to emerge. And he did. With a girl on each arm.

She could feel Camryn stiffen next to her, but otherwise, but otherwise keep her composure. The girl had a good poker face.

"Sorry I'm late!" Bruce exclaimed as he walked towards the center of the room. "I'm glad to see that you all got started without me. Now, where is Harvey …?" Bruce continued to speak, but Camryn turned around quickly and click-clacked away with surprising grace. Sidney decided to let her go and get control of herself. Besides, she wanted to see what Bruce was going to say about Harvey. And perhaps she could get a shot at him afterwards.

As it was, Sidney could not make her way towards the center of the crowd quickly enough to catch all of Bruce's speech. She emerged to the front just as he was saying that he did, indeed, believe in Harvey Dent. Alfred handed him a champagne glass and he raised it. "To Harvey." The room echoed his sentiments as he took a healthy swig of his drink. After he was done with his toast, he looked around and made his way out of the center of attention.

"Nice toast," Sidney murmured as he walked past her. Bruce stopped to see who spoke and when he saw who it was, he smiled.

"Thanks," he responded, "have you seen Cam?"

"Yep," Sidney responded, but didn't offer any sort of elaboration.

"Well, I don't know where she is _now," _Sidney began. "She was over there a few moments ago," she pointed in the direction from which she had just come. "But I don't think she's there anymore."

"Did she say where she was _going_?" Bruce asked slowly, not sure what kind of prompt Sidney needed in order for her to answer the question he was asking.

"Nope," Sidney responded, shrugging, "she didn't say anything. She saw you come in, turned around, and walked away. Maybe she's not feeling well? She seemed a little peaky. Maybe you should check the bathrooms." Bruce thanked Sidney, but did not actually intend on checking the bathrooms, because he spotted Camryn then. She was talking to a middle-aged man whose, and seemed to be rather engrossed in the conversation, but Bruce decided that he would interrupt.

"Hey," he said smoothly as he inserted himself next to Camryn, slipping a hand around her waist and plucking the champagne glass out of her hand. "You look lovely, but you shouldn't be drinking this."

"Well, I've already had two glasses and I haven't dropped dead yet," Camryn informed him.

"I doubt you would drop dead," he assured her, "but you'll wish-"

"What are you doing, Bruce?" She cut him off. Bruce looked a little surprised.

"Uhm, having a party," he answered as one of the girls he had come with found him and basically glued herself to his side while sliding a little hors d'oervre into his mouth. She chucked as he chewed it and smiled at her. He turned back to Camryn. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Incidentally, no," she responded before snatching the champagne glass from his hand and walking out towards the balcony, carefully so as not to fall over.

Bruce excused himself and followed her, telling his date to kindly stay where she was.

He found Camryn leaning against the railing, staring out over the Gotham skyline.

"What's the matter?" He asked as he leaned against the rail as well, though he was facing her, not outwards.

"Nothing," she replied as she idly sipped her champagne without looking at him.

"You look upset."

"My head hurts," she lied.

"It's probably because you don't eat and then you're mixing vicodin with champagne," Bruce reminded her. "You're not supposed to do that. Maybe you should go and lie down, I think I saw someone go into my bedroom but I could kick them-"

"I'll be fine, I just needed some cool air."

"Ah," he murmured as moved so that he was behind her, circled her with his arms and nuzzled her neck "You really do look stunning." He ran his hand from the middle of her torso to her hips, pretending he was feeling the material of the dress. "Money well-spent."

Camryn moved away from him and said, "I'm glad you approve." She had come out here to get away from Bruce, so being out there was no longer an option. She walked away yet again, still sipping her champagne.

Bruce sighed as he leaned against the rail. Of course, he knew why she was upset. He had done it on purpose, after all. Not upset her, of course, but make her a little angry with him. It wasn't like he could have her falling in love with him or anything. Things were already difficult enough for him without throwing her feelings into the mix as well. The last thing he needed or wanted was another ghost of a relationship hanging over him.

"You're real jerk, you know," Rachel said as she leaned against the railing next to him. "Luckily for you, I don't like her that much, so I guess it's all right."

"I'm pretty awful," Bruce agreed.

"Just a tip, next time, don't show up with two other girls," Rachel suggested.

"It doesn't matter," Bruce stated as he turned towards her. "Things are changing, Rachel. That day when Gotham no longer needs Batman is coming. I'm just biding my time until it happens."

"You can't ask me to wait for that," Rachel told him.

"It's happening now," Bruce told her, "Harvey is the hero Gotham needs …"

As all of this was happening, Sidney was standing near the glass door, completely unnoticed by the two people on the balcony. She had a mind to go and get Camryn so she could watch, but she had a feeling that her friend wouldn't get the same enjoyment out of it. Actually she was sure of it, because Camryn definitely would not have squealed with delight as Bruce's lips met Rachel's for more than just a friendly peck.

But she just couldn't decide who to tell first. She turned around, deciding that she would just walk and that whoever she saw first was the one she would tell. Of course, she was walking in the direction in which she knew Harvey was going to be.

"_Guess_ what I just saw!" Sidney ordered as she came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"I don't know, why?" Harvey replied as he turned around to face her.

"You didn't even try to guess," said Sidney with a pout.

"To be honest, I don't think I could come up with anything sensible," Harvey assured her, "I'm about fried. These people scare the crap out of me."

"Well, fine," Sidney huffed, "Rachel and Bruce are out on the balcony looking _pretty_ friendly."

"What?" Harvey asked, not sure if he had heard her correctly.

"They were kissing," Sidney said with a shrug, "at least they were the last time I saw them. They might have relocated to Bruce's bedroom by now-" But Sidney didn't get a chance to finish her thought because Harvey walked past her. "God, who cares?" She asked, slightly confused that Harvey seemed so upset by this. "I mean, you're going to dump her anyway."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean that Bruce Wayne gets to-" Harvey began as he opened the door to the balcony. But, he didn't get to finish either, though that was of his own doing. Sidney had been right, of course. The two of them pulled away from each other as soon as they had heard the door opening.

"Harvey-" Rachel began, but immediately was silenced, because Bruce pushed past her, grabbed Harvey, and immediately put him in a sleeper hold of sorts. "Bruce what are you doing?!"

But he didn't answer, because over Sidney's shoulder, he saw probably the most unwanted guest in Gotham. The Joker had somehow found his way into his penthouse, and for some reason he figured Harvey might be his Target.

Instead of going through the door that went back into the main room, Bruce went to the left through the door that led into his bedroom.

It had all happened too fast for either of them to say a word, but Sidney then looked around to see the Joker.

"Who the hell is that?" She asked.

"The Joker," Rachel said shortly as she walked back inside, thinking that the balcony probably wasn't the best way. If she got cornered out there, there would be no hope whatsoever. Sidney followed, just because she wasn't exactly sure what the protocol was for this type of situation.

"I'll settle for his loved ones," Joker said as Sidney came inside. She couldn't even begin to fathom what the hell was going on. He seemed to be threatening an elderly man with a knife when Rachel stepped out into the middle of the floor.

"All right, stop," she ordered. Joker turned around and looked at her. He looked pretty excited until he saw who she was.

"Oh, you don't count!" He exclaimed. "I need the _other _one! You're old hat now, sweet cheeks. Very beautiful, though, I'm not going to lie."

"Shit …" Sidney murmured underneath her breath. Could this psycho actually be looking for her? She tried to duck down and make her was slowly towards the elevator, but that was rather hard, as the way to the elevator was right past him.

"No, no," Joker began to explain, "if you can't give me _Harvey_ I'm going to need a good substitute. The one I'm looking for has red hair, I think she's wearing a gold dress tonight, at least that is the one she was carrying around with her yesterday …. Siiidney! Come out!"

"Here she is!" A middle-aged woman shouted as Sidney tried to duck behind her.

"You stupid bitch," she muttered.

"Is it Sidney?!" Joker gasped as he started walking towards the woman who had just spoken. "If it's not her I'm going to very – there she is!" Joker grabbed her by the hair and dragged her upright. "Look at all this hair. This is just beautiful."

Sidney shrieked as she tried to struggle away, but Joker grabbed her by the cheeks and put a knife up to her face.

"Don't scream like that," he suggested. He was about to say something else, but then a huge mass of black swooped down and hit him from behind. He was forced to let go of Sidney as he hit the ground, but quickly scrabbled to his feet. Sidney tried to back away as a fight between who she supposed was Batman and Joker with his goons, however, one of said goons grabbed her by the arms and refused to let her go, even when she kicked and flailed. There was nothing she could do but watch.

Batman seemed to be holding his own even though he was outnumbered. The goons were dropping like flies, but Joker proved a little harder to defeat. Using one of his cronies as a shield and fighting implement, he got Batman to the ground and started to kick him. Normally this wouldn't have been capable of doing damage, but there was a knife in his shoe.

Batman fought off the man who was holding him down, and then managed to get up, but not before Joker had gotten back to Sidney, this time with a gun to her head.

"Stop it, now," he warned, "we don't want this pretty little head to be all over the room." He glanced over his shoulder as he backed towards one of the windows.

"Let her go," he ordered.

"Why?" he queried. "We were just about to leave." And that's when a helicopter came into view. Bruce recognized it as his own helicopter.

Joker shot out the window and continued to back towards it.

"I hope they catch her …" he trailed off as he tossed Sidney out the window and jumped out afterwards. Both of them managed to make it into the helicopter, which started its escape as soon as the two of them were inside. Without hesitation, Batman jumped out the window after them and soared after the helicopter.

"This guy just doesn't give up …" Joker trailed off as he held his hand out. One of his goons put a gun in his hand, and he took aim at Batman.

It didn't take long for Batman to figure out that he was about to be shot at, but he couldn't get out of the way in time. Of course, it didn't really matter if they his body. However, his wings were slightly more vulnerable, and the Joker was actually a pretty good shot.

With holes in his wings, soaring was a little difficult.

"Shit …" he murmured to himself as he started to lose altitude immediately. Not having faith in his ability to get his grappling gun out and get a shot off before he hit the ground, he decided that he would focus on landing safely first. Most likely, it wouldn't be long before Joker put out a message with his demands. He would find her then, or at least he would try.


	9. It's a Pretty Good Story

"I don't know …" Camryn trailed off upon being interrogated by a journalist on the happenings of the past thirty minutes. It hadn't taken the media too long to get there. "It all happened so quickly, and so slowly at the same time. I wasn't really feeling well anyway, and I was in Bruce's bedroom lying down."

"With Mr. Wayne?" The journalist asked, apparently forgetting what had just happened for something a little juicier.

"No," Camryn answered slowly, wondering why that was relevant, "we had just had an argument. I don't see-"

"About what?" she was cut off.

"None of your business," she responded rather angrily, "but it doesn't really matter. One of my friends just got kidnapped, remember?" The journalist gave her a nasty look for being so uncooperative, and then decided that the interview was over. "If you want some sort of escort back home-"

"It won't be necessary, I'm staying here …" Camryn trailed off as she put her head in her hands and rubbed her temples.

"Oh really?" The journalist said as he walked away, scribbling something down in his notebook. As the journalist left, Rachel approached her.

"This totally blows," she murmured, forgetting for a moment that she was supposed to hate her, but then quickly remembering. "Why didn't he take _you_ instead?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Rachel answered. "I suppose it's a little sick that I'm mad he didn't attempt to kidnap me."

"More than a little," Camryn responded as she carefully got to her feet. The penthouse had been cleared out, and a clear covering had been placed over the broken window. No doubt it would be fixed by the end of tomorrow once Bruce realized that it was missing. "I wonder where Bruce went."

"He probably has a panic room somewhere in here," Rachel responded.

"He _would_ just get in by himself," Camryn remarked cynically

"Get in where by myself?" Bruce asked as he approached.

"Nowhere," Camryn answered. "Anyone seen Harvey?"

"He's passed out in the guest bedroom," Bruce answered. "I guess that he had a little too much to drink. Good thing The Joker didn't look in there."

"He had barely been here for forty-five minutes before Joker got here," Camryn stated, "how could he possibly be passed out in the guest bedroom?"

"Guess he's a lightweight," Bruce answered with a shrug.

"Well, I hope that he's not _too_ incapacitated, because he and I need to have a talk," and with that Rachel marched towards the indicated bedroom.

"I think she's mad because the Joker didn't kidnap her," Camryn murmured. "She might be a little off her hinges." Now that Rachel was gone, Camryn felt like she could sit back down, so she did on one of the couches. She lay back, closed her eyes, and covered them with her forearm.

Bruce then looked to all of the journalists and a few stragglers who were sticking around.

"Everyone who isn't here for clean-up reasons needs to get out, now," he stated with authority. "Are you OK?"

"Do I look like I'm OK to you?" Camryn asked.

"Point," Bruce agreed as he picked her up. "I think it's time for you to go to bed."

"I don't want to go to bed," she murmured as she squirmed in Bruce's arms. "Stop picking me up all the time. Just put me back where I was. Leave me alone."

"Cranky?"

"Incredibly," she responded.

"All the more reason to go to bed," said Bruce.

"Fine, you can put me to bed once Harvey vacates my room. I don't want to be near you right now," she informed him.

"Why's that?" Bruce asked, not really putting much stock in what she was saying, figuring that she was drunk and had no idea what she was talking. However, Camryn had not actually had that much to drink, and knew exactly what she was saying.

"Because you're a jerk," Camryn answered, "and you came here with two other girls."

"I'm allowed to bring guests to my own home," he reminded her. "And if I recall correctly, you were the one who was ignoring me."

"Because you had two other dates!" Camryn exclaimed which made her head start to pound.

"I don't even remember what their names were," he assured her. "Well, I remember what they were, I just don't remember which name went with which."

"That's not the point," Camryn stated, though she leaned her head against his chest. It was firm and warm. Bruce smirked as he entered his bedroom, laid her down on the bed, and removed her shoes for her.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He asked. "I'm surprised you didn't kill yourself."

"I was thinking I would have to look hot for you, but I could have worn a potato sack and slippers and it would have been just fine," Camryn reflected.

"True," Bruce agreed, "but that's because you'd look good in anything."

"Shut up," she ordered. "I hate you. And you were kissing Rachel."

"How'd you know that?" Bruce asked, unfazed.

"I saw you,"' she answered.

"Well … so what?" He asked. "I've been in love with Rachel for a long time."

"Oh?" Camryn asked. "So what's stopping you?"

"A lot of things," he answered vaguely. "Right now is not really the time for her and me to have a relationship."

"So you're just biding your time until that happens?" She asked.

"Pretty much," he confirmed, even though it wasn't exactly the truth. "But that doesn't mean I don't like you."

"Get off me," she ordered as she tried to kick him away. He neatly caught her foot, but let go when she pulled it away and rolled out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To bed."

---------------------------------

"Wake up, Harvey," Rachel ordered as she roughly shook her boyfriend, who came to quite quickly, albeit rather confused.

"What happened?" He demanded as he quickly sat up and looked around.

"Funny story," Rachel began, "the Joker showed up. He was looking for you. Luckily you were in here and he didn't look. However, he said he would settle for your loved ones. So I, selflessly, thinking if I could keep him from killing people I might as well, stepped up, and he told me that _I didn't count_."

"Well, I don't know," Harvey answered, "it's not true."

"Oh, but it gets better," Rachel assured him. He was on his feet now. "He started asking for _Sidney._ Now, why would he do something like that, Harvey?"

"I don't know," he answered, "why would you kiss Bruce Wayne and then be mad at me because the Joker wasn't looking for you?"

"Let's not get off topic," Rachel ignored him, "I haven't finished my story. Eventually he finds Sidney, and, now this is the funny part, he jumps in a helicopter with her! And now she's gone."

"WHAT?!" He demanded as he shot to his feet.

"Yep. Gone," Rachel confirmed. "Now, I'm just wondering why the Joker would kidnap her when he said that he was looking for his loved ones."

"Because she _is_ a loved one, Rachel!" He exclaimed. As he stormed out of the bedroom, he brushed past Camryn, who was followed by Bruce.

"What the fuck went on here, Wayne?" Harvey demanded of him, which impeded his progress in following Camryn, who pushed Rachel out of the room before slamming the door.

"Beats me," Bruce answered, doing his best to feign being calm, when really he was about ready to rip his hair out. "I seemed to have missed everything."

"You're fucking useless," he seethed as he stormed towards the elevator, not quite sure what he was going to do once he got there. It wasn't like he had any clue about where to go looking for Sidney, but he was sure that if he didn't get out he was going to end up killing someone.

Rachel, though, seemed rather deflated. Harvey seemed more angry because Bruce didn't know anything about what happened to Sidney, not because he had kissed her. Even so, she followed him into the elevator, because Bruce seemed more interested in getting into his guest bedroom than consoling her.

In the elevator, Harvey didn't say a word. He stood there with his arms folded across his chest, a gloomy expression fixed upon his face.

"I'm sorry, Harvey," Rachel finally broke the silence.

"I really don't want to hear it," he snapped at her. "I guess you kissing Wayne makes us even." That was when the doors of the elevator opened and he stalked out without making an attempt at an explanation, leaving Rachel standing there, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

Once she had been thrown into the helicopter, Sidney was blindfolded and bound hands and feet. A gag was placed in her mouth so that she couldn't make any noise. Obviously, any sort of struggle would have been futile, but that didn't stop her from making as much noise as possible.

However, her captors seemed to be ignoring her. At least, they were until the helicopter touched onto the ground. Then, she was picked up rather roughly and taken from the helicopter, still squirming and grunting.

"Will you, uh, stop that?" the Joker asked. "It's not like it's going to do anything for you besides annoy me. You may have figured out by now that's not something you want to do."

Sidney would have liked to reply, but there was the small issue of the gag in her mouth.

"Good answer," Joker approved. "Uh … Little dilemma, here. Now that I have you, I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with you. So, you're just going to have to sit quietly until I figure something out, OK?"

There were nothing but muffled grunts from Sidney.

"You know, I was going to remove the gag but now I'm not so sure." She was dropped on a hard surface and her blindfold was removed. She was sitting in the middle of a rather dingy looking room with nothing in it but a stained cot in the corner. Even with only her eyes to express herself, her disgust was pretty apparent.

"Oh, I know," Joker cooed, "your dress is gonna get all dirty … We could always just take it off." The grunts elevated to screams and the Joker started laughing. "Oh, calm down. I don't want to take your clothes off right now." Sidney's eyes widened and Joker laughed some more. "You're … excitable, huh? Most hostages try to make you think that they're not afraid of you." A door slammed and Sidney's wrists were released by the Joker with his knife, followed by her ankles. "See? I can be reasonable as long as you can be. Just no funny stuff. I really don't mind killing you. I'm not holding you for ransom or anything."

Once her hands were freed, Sidney untied her gag and took it off.

"Who the FUCK are you?" She demanded.

"Uh … You mean you don't know who I am?" Joker asked, sounding rather disappointed.

"I know you're a goddamn clown!" Sidney exclaimed. "But other than that, I'm afraid I'm at a loss."

"Clown?" Joker asked. "No no no. I'm not a clown."

"Well you look like a fucking clown to me," she stated. "Where the fuck am I?"

"You have a very foul mouth," he growled as he shot over to her and grabbed her chin in his hands. Sidney had to fight to keep herself from squeaking as that white face came bearing down on her. For a second, the look on his face was positively murderous. Then, his expression lightened. "Better be careful, I'll put soap in there." He patted her cheek and then went to sit on the cot. "So … you don't know who I am. Where do you live, under a rock?"

"I just came recently from out of town," she explained to him.

"Oh, OK!" Joker exclaimed as he breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That explains it, then. They say ignorance is bliss, you know."

"Maybe not tonight," Sidney disagreed.

"Well, it's not like you knowing who I am would have stopped me from taking you," Joker reminded her. "You just would have been a little more scared."

"Oh, I'm plenty scared," Sidney assured him.

"Not as scared as you would have been," he countered as he took out his knife and started idly picking at his fingernails with it.

"What's with the scars?" Sidney asked, trying her best just to keep him talking. He was really creepy when silent, and the scars were the first thing she could think to comment on.

"I'm so glad you asked!" He exclaimed. "It's actually a pretty good story …"


	10. In Case You're Interested

So … I'm a humongous weirdo and I like to dress up my characters. So, on my polyvore account, there is a collection of everything noteworthy worn by Camryn and Sidney. As of now, I have not dressed up the boys yet, but I might someday. Anyway, here is the link in case anyone is interested in looking 

For some reason the first part of the link is not working. It SHOULD say www/./polyvore/./com (no slashes, obviously) Then you can just add the rest if you want to see the collection.

.com/when_things_get_complicated/collection?id=14125


	11. Secret's Out

"Camryn, let me in," Bruce said evenly, knowing the shouting probably wasn't going to help. Normally, he wouldn't make the effort with this, but he was oddly bothered by the fact that he had upset her, especially because what he said hadn't been true. Yes, he was in love with Rachel, but he didn't see Camryn the same way as all the other girls he used to distract himself.

There was no answer.

"You know, breaking down the door really wouldn't be a problem, and then you won't have a door to close," he reasoned. There was still no answer. Camryn figured that if was willing and able to break down the door he deserved to come in. It was technically his door, anyway.

Surprised that she didn't answer, Bruce wasn't completely sure that he wanted to break down the door. He feared it might be slightly excessive and might only make things worse.

"Will you please let me in?"

"Why?" came her voice from within.

"Because I want to talk to you without a huge slab of wood between us," he answered.

"Well, that much I could gather on my own," Camryn said sarcastically as she started to undress herself. "I mean why do you want to talk to me."

"Because I seem to have upset you."

"So?" She stepped out of the dress and put it on a hanger, admiring it as she put it away in the closet. At least something good had come of the night. She realized that she had left her shoes in Bruce's room, and considered going to get them, but then figured they would still be there in the morning.

"So … what? You think I am this terrible, insensitive asshole who doesn't care about your feelings?" He asked.

"Yes, actually, now that you mention it," Camryn answered. "I mean, judging by the way you talk about all women who are not Rachel-"

"Or you," he added.

"How do I know you don't talk about me like that to them?"

"I don't," Bruce told her. "Come on, you've been living with me for the past few days, and for the majority of that time I have been taking care of you and carrying you all over the place-"

"I'm perfectly aware of the activities of the past few days, thanks," Camryn stated as she pulled on Bruce's pajama pants and a t-shirt, and then started walking towards the door. Bruce thought that she was going to open it, but she only turned off the lights and then got into the bed.

"Alfred," Bruce stopped his butler as he passed by, "is there a key to this door?"

"Of course, sir," Alfred answered, "though I don't remember when a locked door has ever stopped you …" He went into his pocket and dug out a key ring. After selecting a key, he put it into the lock and turned. "There you are, sir."

"Thank you, Alfred," said Bruce as he pushed the door open.

"Go away," Camryn groaned. Instead of following her orders, Bruce turned on the light, walked over to the bed and sat right next to her legs so that he could see her face.

"I can understand why you might be angry-"

"I'm not angry," Camryn cut him off, "I'm not allowed to be angry."

"Why not?"

"Because you're Bruce Wayne and you can do whatever you want," she answered.

"Well, I want you to come and sleep in my bed with me," he stated.

"I'm not going to do that," Camryn answered.

"But I want you to," he reasoned.

"You could try to make me," Camryn suggested, "but that doesn't mean that it's going to happen. I mean, if you wanted to, you could carry me back every time I left, but that wouldn't keep me from leaving. Or you could hold me down, but you'd have to fall asleep eventually. And besides you don't seem like the kind of person who would do that."

"I would," Bruce corrected her.

"I don't see why it matters," Camryn continued, "because you love Rachel and Harvey is going to dump her soon. So I am not going to get my hopes up."

"How do you know that?" Bruce asked.

"That Harvey is going to dump her soon?" Camryn asked. Bruce nodded. "Because Harvey and Sidney banged and instead of ignoring her existence he actually brought her here with him tonight. Granted, we haven't had sex, but usually that ensures that you DON'T ignore me-"

"Wait," Bruce interrupted, "Harvey and _Sidney_?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Camryn asked. "It's not like she's ugly, and the two of them have been friends since childhood. It's really not that farfetched …"

"There is a lot more than Harvey Dent standing between Rachel and me," Bruce informed her.

"But I am not one of those things," Camryn said finally. "Could you please get out, now? I'm kind of tired and you're making my head hurt. And don't forget to turn off the light on your way out." Bruce sighed. Obviously he was getting nowhere, so he stood up and left, turning off the lights as he went, mentally cursing himself for being so stupid.

He should have kept his mouth shut, because as he got into his own bed, he realized, for the first time in a long while, that it wasn't Rachel who he wished was next to him.

---------------------------------------------

"You look … uncomfortable," Joker remarked as he observed Sidney from the bed.

"You make me uncomfortable," Sidney responded. "And this floor is not exactly soft."

"Would you like to sit on the bed?" Joker asked. Sidney eyed the mattress warily. It had a few very suspicious stains on it. Though the floor was not much cleaner, she at least knew that it didn't have anything hiding inside of it.

"No thanks," she responded.

"Suit yourself," he answered. "But if I were you, I _would_ try to get comfortable. You're going to be here for a while."

"How long?" She asked.

"Uh, I don't know," Joker answered, "I just said a while. I still don't know what I'm going to do with you."

"Me neither," Sidney responded, "I mean, it's not like you can persuade the people of Gotham to care about me. I just moved here from Los Angeles. I barely know anyone."

"I don't need Gotham City to care about you," Joker responded, "just Harvey Dent. And _that_ you have got. I'm sure I can come up with something. And if not, I can always just throw you in a box and put you in storage … save you for a rainy day." He stretched himself the length of the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "So, what brings you to Gotham City? And none of that crap about your boyfriend beating you. _That_ is something that only Harvey Dent would believe."

"What makes you think it's not true?" Sidney asked.

"Because it is the kind of story you make up when you _don't_ want to tell the truth," Joker responded. "And besides, if you're going to try and tell me that a pretty girl like you can't control her boyfriend, you must think I'm crazy."

"Well …" Sidney trailed off suggestively, but didn't finish her thought for fear that she might offend him, and the last thing she wanted to do was offend the crazy man holding her hostage.

"So out with it!" Joker exclaimed, sounding like he was pretty excited to hear the story. Sidney was about to oblige him when there was a knock on the door. "Now … who could that be?" He got up and walked towards the door. Upon peeking through the little hole, he giggled slightly. "It's Scarecrow!" He exclaimed. "He's going to be mad."

"Scarecrow?" Sidney asked as Joker opened the door. On the other side was a tall, lanky man in a suit. He was otherwise unremarkable besides the burlap sack he was wearing over his head. Scarecrow looked at Sidney, and then slowly turned his head back to the Joker.

"I was hoping that it wasn't true," he said evenly. Sidney swore that she had heard that voice before, but could not place it.

"Oh, it is," Joker said nonchalantly. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Scarecrow grabbed him by the lapel of his purple jacket and hauled him out of the door, letting it slam behind them.

The room must have been soundproof, because Sidney could not hear anything happening on the other side. Nevertheless, she pressed her ear to the crack of the door, hoping for something, anything.

---------------------------------

"What's the matter?" Joker asked as Scarecrow shoved him into the wall. They were on the top level of Arkham Asylum. The floor had been deemed unfit to house any of the patients because of the conditions of the architecture. It was scheduled to be restored, but until then, it made the perfect hideout.

"You _know_ what the matter is," Scarecrow growled. He still hadn't removed his mask, so his words were slightly muffled. "I saw her _first_."

"That may be," Joker responded, "but I _stole_ her first. What have you got to say to that?"

"You just made a _big_ mistake," he responded.

"Me?" Joker asked, looking around. "Look, I don't know what you're so worked up about. I'm just going to hold her hostage for a little bit, see if I can rattle Dent's cage a little. You can have her back when I'm done if she's not dead."

"If you harm one hair-" Scarecrow began.

"You're starting to sound like a jealous boyfriend," Joker stated, "it definitely doesn't suit you. What do you want her for, anyway?"

"Nothing," Scarecrow answered. "What do _you_ want her for?"

"I'm going to figure something out, I swear," Joker responded. "But you know me. I never think too hard about anything. It'll come to me. Until then, you're just going to have to cool down, because this little boy who has had his toy stolen act is not cool."

"How long do you think you're going to be?" Scarecrow asked.

"It depends on a few things," Joker replied, "mostly Harvey Dent. I have some plans for him, though I'm not quite sure what they are yet. You just have to trust me, all right?"

"Trust you?" Scarecrow asked incredulously.

"Have I ever given you a reason not to?" Joker asked, grinning broadly. He knew that the answer to the question was a big no, but Scarecrow was not really one who liked to share. Anything. "Look, you will just have to live without your girlfriend for a few days. Maybe a few weeks, I dunno. And until then, I promise nothing _very_ bad is going to happen to her. It's not like she's going to be that far away from you. You _work _here."

"That's _not_ the point," Scarecrow informed him. "The point _is_ you need to keep your grubby paws off of things that are not yours."

"Are you serious?" Joker asked. "Really?"

"OK, I'll rephrase that," Scarecrow amended. "You need to keep your grubby paws off of things that are _mine._"

"You should probably keep better tabs on your belongings if you don't want them stolen," Joker informed him. "Especially when there are people like me around. Now … I am going to and, uh, watch my hostage or something. You should go do whatever it is you do and let me do," Joker gestured to himself, "what I do. Because I'm pretty good at it, all right?"

If Joker could have seen Scarecrow's face at the moment, would know that, no, it was not all right.

But he probably would have said it like that anyway.

"If any of your-"

"Don't worry, no one is going to hurt her," Joker assured him. "I'm probably not even going to tie her up. She's behaving well."

"Just please try not to damage her," Scarecrow almost whined, knowing that he was not going to win this argument directly, and that he was going to have to be a little sneakier.

"Well, no physical damage will be done, I promise," Joker responded, leering at Scarecrow as he shoved the key into the cell door, turned it, and tugged it open. When he went back into the room, he saw that Sidney had traded her spot on the floor for one on the bed. "I see that you changed your mind."

"Once you got out of it, it didn't seem like such a bad idea," Sidney responded.

"Well, you can have it for now," Joker said to her, "because I have stuff to do. But you're going to stay here. You can do whatever you like …"

Sidney looked around the room, which was completely empty besides the bed. She wasn't exactly sure how he expected her to occupy herself.

"What if I have to go to the bathroom?" she asked.

"You can hold it," Joker responded. "There will be people checking in on you sometimes, they'll take you to the restroom if you really need to go. As long as you're a good girl and ask nicely. Not that you haven't been a good girl. You've been behaving very well, actually. I might bring you a treat or something."

"Well, it's not like I can gain anything by not cooperating," Sidney responded. She refrained from telling the Joker that he really wasn't all that scary and that he seemed like a pretty nice guy. The last thing she wanted was for him to try and prove her wrong. "Who was that guy who came to talk to you?"

"Oh, that was our friend Scarecrow," Joker answered. "You know him, don't you?"

"Uhm … no," Sidney responded.

"Hmm, I was sure that you did," Joker answered absently. "Nevermind. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a very busy schedule, and I can't be … dawdling around here with you. I'll be back in a little bit." With that, he opened the door once more and walked out. Scarecrow was still standing outside of the door, only now he didn't have his mask on.

"You don't plan on going in there like that, do you?" Joker asked.

"No," he responded without looking at him.

"Good," Joker responded, "because the whole point of blindfolding her while I brought her here was so that she _wouldn't_ know where she was. You'd be a dead giveaway, I think. Not to mention she knows who you are."

"Just go," he ordered. "I'm going to be here."

"Oh! Well, that's good," Joker stated, "make sure you check in on her from time to time. Just in case she has to tinkle or something. And try to find something for her to eat, too. She might get hungry." And then he walked on. The schedule of a criminal mastermind is always very demanding.

Dr. Crane leaned against the wall and slid so that he was sitting on the floor. It was going to be a rather long day, and he wasn't going to able to spend it up on the top floor of Arkham in its entirety. He glanced at his watch and realized that he had a while before the day actually started. And so, he decided to spend his free time thinking up ways to remedy the current situation. Normally, he would let Joker have his way, but not this time.

---------------------------------------------

"I think, sir, that there is a problem," said Alfred the next morning as Bruce was on the floor banging out a couple hundred pushups.

"What's that?" Bruce asked without stopping.

"Perhaps you should read it for yourself," Alfred responded.

"I'm doing something right now, Alfred," Bruce answered, "could you give me the highlights?" Alfred sighed as he straightened out the newspaper he was holding in his hands.

"It's an article about the events of last night," Alfred stated as a precursor. "Most of it I'm sure you already know, but it appears that the wonderful journalists of the Gotham Times have discovered our house guest."

"What?" Bruce asked as he immediately stood up and took the paper from Alfred's hands, reading it himself. It was there, all right; a quote from Camryn, followed by an explanation of who she was and the specifics of her relation to Bruce Wayne and his penthouse. "How did they find out about this?"

"Beats me, sir," Alfred responded. "The only people who knew are you, me, Mr. Dent, Miss Dawes, and Miss Reynolds. Miss Reynolds was obviously in no position to be talking to journalists, neither was Harvey, for that matter, and that doesn't seem like something Rachel would do."

"And it wasn't me or you …" Bruce trailed off as he walked briskly from his bedroom, crossed the living room, and knocked open the door of Camryn's room, making quite a bit of noise.

"What?" Camryn sputtered as she shot up, quickly grabbed her head, and lay back down. "Ow."

"Did you talk to any reporters last night?" Bruce asked, doing his best to keep calm.

"Yes," she answered simply, she still hadn't let go of her head or uncovered her eyes. The windows in here did not have the same sort of covering, and in the morning the light was rather bright.

"Did you tell them that you are staying here?" He asked.

"No," she responded, and then after a second, she changed her answer to yes. "Shit."

"Shit is right," Bruce agreed.

"It was an accident."

"Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better," Bruce said sarcastically, "I mean, I'm glad you didn't endanger your safety on _purpose._"

The sarcasm only succeeded in making Camryn feel angry, not more apologetic.

"What does my safety matter to you anyway?" She asked.

"Don't be stupid," Bruce sneered.

"Well," Alfred interjected, thinking that it probably would be bad for all concerned if a fight broke out, "it only said that she is _staying_ here. Not that she is _living_ here."

"But Maroni has probably been looking for her for _days_," Bruce reminded Alfred, "and he knows her, he knows who she hangs around with. It's not like she's just all of a sudden going to spend a night in my apartment. He's not stupid."

"Well, maybe he'll come kidnap me and I will be out of your hair," Camryn responded. "I'll pack up all my shit and go stand in the lobby."

"Now is not the time to try and be funny," Bruce informed her, oddly surprised that he was making such a huge deal out of this. It wasn't like it was easy to get into his penthouse. Sure, the Joker had done it, but that was the Joker, and Maroni was no Joker.

"I wasn't _trying_ to be funny," Camryn answered.

"If you think I'm above chaining you to the toilet and locking you inside the bathroom, you should try me," Bruce suggested. "However, if you don't think you would enjoy that, you should probably stay in this apartment." Bruce decided that he was most likely going to end up staying there, too. At least for the next few days. Perhaps the next few nights, too. He decided that Gotham might have to live without Batman for a few days, at least until he could figure out what to do about Maroni.

"Don't worry, I'm _really_ not trying to be kidnapped by Sal Maroni, as that would most likely end with my death," Camryn informed him.

"I'm completely aware," Bruce reminded her. He walked to the other side of the bed and fell onto it. "You're _so_ stupid."

"I was _distraught!"_ Camryn exclaimed. "My friend had been kidnapped and you had two other girls with you."

"Can we not go back to this topic?" Bruce asked. "I just woke up and this is not the best news to wake up to." Camryn slid out of the bed and walked into her bathroom, determined not to spend too much time alone with Bruce Wayne, just in case she decided to forgive him.

-----------------------------------

"YOU'REbreaking up with ME?" Rachel demanded of Harvey as she stood in front of his desk. "_You're_ the one who _slept_ with another person behind my back!"

"I realize that," Harvey agreed without looking at her. He was doing his best to remain calm when really he was practically being eaten by worry from the inside out. Obviously, he had been told by the police that they would do whatever they could to find Sidney. But, he had very little faith in the police. Having no idea where to go about looking himself, he decided that he would just try to keep busy as possible, hoping that it would keep his mind off it.

It wasn't working. And Rachel screaming wasn't nice, either.

"And that's _why_ I'm breaking up with you," Harvey finished. "You deserve better than that, and I'm pretty sure I don't love you anymore." He grimaced. That had not come out the way he wanted it to. Rachel looked shocked, but Harvey persevered. "You were also kissing Bruce Wayne last night."

"That is _nowhere near_ what you did!" Rachel exclaimed.

"So?" Harvey asked. "Look, obviously, the two of us are not going to be able to make this work, and I'm obviously not your only option. So let's just leave well enough alone, huh? I don't want to fight with you."

"I _hate_ you," Rachel seethed as she turned on her heel and stormed out of the office. Harvey refrained from watching her as she left. Even though he had been the one to break up with her, this was obviously not a happy occasion, and he hoped like hell that he had done the right thing for everyone involved.


	12. Abduction

Sidney was about sick of staring at the wall, and she was wondering where these people who were supposed to be checking up on her were. She really _did_ have to go to the bathroom. Instead of waiting, she decided that she was going to be proactive. She walked over to the door and started banging as loudly as she could.

Dr. Crane heaved himself from the floor and put on his mask before he shoved the key Joker had left him with into the lock and opening the door.

When Sidney saw who it was, she jumped back a few feet.

"Sorry, that wasn't the mask I was expecting," Sidney informed him. "I really need to go to the bathroom."

"Come on, then," Scarecrow grunted as he grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her forward.

"Jeez! No need to be so rough!" Sidney informed him. "I'm not going to try and run away or anything." Scarecrow took a blindfold from his pocket, turned her around, and started to tie it around her head. He was pretty sure that she didn't know what the inside of Arkham looked like, but better safe than sorry. "It's too tight."

"You'll get over it," he said to her. This time, he grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her out of the room, letting the door slam after them.

"You're hurting me," Sidney informed him. In response, he squeezed harder on her arm. "Ouch!" Scarecrow stopped abruptly so that Sidney bumped into him.

"Quiet," he ordered.

"You sound really familiar," said to him. "Have we met?"

"Possibly," Scarecrow answered as he started heading down the stairs. Obviously there wasn't a working restroom on the floor no one used, so he had to lead Sidney through a story where people might have seen her. Of course, no one would question him, and no one did, not even a word about the blindfold.

Once they reached the bathroom, Scarecrow pushed her in and closed the door.

"Make sure you put the blindfold back on before you come back out," he ordered as he leaned against the door.

"Yes, sir," Sidney barked as she took it off and looked around. There were no windows like she had hoped. She remembered seeing a movie in which a man ripped a toilet out of the ground and threw it at a water-damaged wall in order to escape from a bathroom. However, she was not that strong and these walls looked just fine.

So, she handled her business and put her blindfold back on.

As Dr. Crane stood outside the bathroom, he was rather pissed off. He didn't like being Scarecrow around her, mostly because it was rather clear that she didn't like Scarecrow.

"OK," she said, "I'm ready to come out. Can you please be nice? It's not like I'm going to run away."

"Is your blindfold on?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes," Sidney answered. And then she heard the door open. She braced herself to be manhandled some more, but instead she felt a gentle touch on her hand slowly pulling her forward. Seeing the bruises he had just made on her arms was rather upsetting, and Jonathan decided that he could at least touch her nicely. "Is this the same person?" She asked.

"Yes," Jonathan answered as he started leading her towards the back staircase. "Look, there's really no need to speak."

"But your voice …" Sidney trailed off, "I've definitely heard it."

They started going up the stairs and Scarecrow said nothing else. He had already spoken enough to her, he didn't have to help her figure out who he was. Once they reached her cell, he opened the door and led her inside. Before taking off her blindfold, he put on his mask. Then, he untied it for her.

"Thanks …" Sidney said as she turned to face him. "So, Scarecrow?"

"Yes," he answered.

"You don't look like the other Joker goons," Sidney observed.

"That's because I'm not one of his goons," Scarecrow answered, "I'm no one's goon. I'm just … a friend, I guess."

"He doesn't seem like the kind of person who would have friends," Sidney observed.

"A valid point," Scarecrow agreed, "well, I'm the closest thing Joker would have to a friend."

"Sucks for him," said Sidney, "he's not a complete jerk. I don't think he should have to put up with you."

"I think if you stick around long enough you will find it is me who puts up with Joker," Scarecrow informed her. "You should probably get some sleep. I'll be outside." And then, before he said anything else, he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Once out, he pulled his mask off and ran his hand through his hair.

He hated leaving her in there.

-------------------------------

"Wait … so … what do you want this girl for?" Joker asked Sal Maroni as the two of them stood in an empty storage building near the Gotham stockyards.

"She saw something," Maroni answered with a noncommittal shrug. "I want to take care of her just in case she decides she wants to testify."

"So … once I have her, what do you want me to do with her?" Joker asked.

"Just give her to me," Maroni answered. "I'll take care of it from there."

"Fine," Joker responded, "where is she?"

"She's staying in Bruce Wayne's penthouse."

"Man!" Joker exclaimed. "I was _just_ there! Couldn't you have asked me to do this last night?"

"I didn't know she was _there_ last night," Maroni answered, "she's been hiding me. But she's not too smart. Blabbed a reporter about where she was."

"Do you think this place is easy to get into or something?" Joker asked. "Because it's not."

"Well, you've done it once. Are you saying you can't do it again?" Maroni asked, hoping that the Joker would take it as a challenge.

He did.

"All right, say I do manage to do this. What do I get in return?"

"What do you want?" Maroni asked. "All I really got is money."

"I guess that will have to do. When you do want her by?" Joker asked.

"The end of the day," Maroni answered. "The sooner I have her, the better. I don't need her running her mouth to Bruce Wayne."

"Understandable," Joker responded as he started walking away. If he was going to get this done by the end of the day, he needed to get started. He was going to need some normal clothing and he was going to have to lose the makeup.

-----------------------------

"Back so soon?" Scarecrow asked as he saw Joker coming up the back staircase.

"Have to change," he answered as he held out his hand for the key. Scarecrow handed it over and he shoved it into the lock. When he pushed the door open, Sidney was lying on the mattress, apparently sleeping. "Aww, how cute."

"She behaved well," Scarecrow informed him.

"Wonderful," Joker responded as he pulled a big black bag from beneath the bed. "If you'll excuse me, I need to change." Scarecrow looked at Sidney for a moment, and then left without a word. There was no harm in it if she was asleep. Once the door was closed, Joker started to take off his suit.

Sidney had woken up as soon as the two of them had come into the room, but had feigned sleep. Now that it was just the Joker In there, she felt that it was safe to wake up. As she turned over, Joker was in the process of taking off his shirt, his back to her.

"I expected you to be paler," Sidney informed him. He turned around, slightly surprised when she spoke. Sidney smirked, as his white face looked funny compared to the rest of his skin, which was actually quite tan.

"If I was paler, I wouldn't need the makeup," Joker explained to her. "I'm going to pay your friend a visit."

"Which friend?" Sidney asked as Joker shrugged into a plain, white, collared shirt and started to do up the buttons.

"The tall pretty one with all the hair," he answered. "The one living in Bruce Wayne's penthouse. I think Maroni said her name was Cami."

"What are you going to do to her?" Sidney asked as she stood up.

"Me?" Joker asked as he started to unbutton his pants. "I'm not going to do anything to her. I'm just the transportation service."

"You're not going to give her to Maroni, are you?" Sidney asked, becoming slightly panicked.

"How'd you know that?" Joker asked.

"He's going to kill her!"

"Uh … so?"

"You can't do that!" She exclaimed.

"I can't?" Joker sounded confused as he pulled his pants off. Underneath them was a pair of plain, black boxers. Sidney was slightly disappointed. She had expected some kind of pattern or design. "Why not?"

"Because she's my friend and she didn't do anything!"

"Neither did you," Joker reminded her, "and yet here you are." He replaced the pants he had just removed with a pair of a similar style in black. He then put on a jacket. "I have to go. Be back when I'm done." Then he left, just like that. He was a man on a mission.

"Stop looking at me like that," Bruce ordered Camryn as he pulled on his motorcycle jacket over the shirt he was wearing. Rachel had called him a few minutes earlier in hysterics because Harvey had just ended it. It was very unlike her. Bruce hadn't hesitated to tell her that he would be there shortly.

"I'm not looking at you like anything," Camryn assured him. "Tell Rachel that I said hello."

Bruce was loathe to leave her there, but he didn't really have much of a choice. He didn't want to upset her by bringing Rachel there, and he couldn't just not go to Rachel if she said that she needed him. He figured that no one would make any attempts on her life in broad daylight.

"I'll be back in a few hours," he said to her as he walked over to the couch on which she was sitting and kissed the top of her head. "Call me if you need anything?"

"Why?" Camryn asked. "It's not like you're going to answer." Bruce ignored this as he got to the elevator and hit the lobby button. As the doors closed, there was a feeling deep down that told him things were not going to be OK the next time he walked into his apartment. But, he wrote it off as excessive paranoia and continued on his way.

----------------------

The Joker congratulated himself on his foresight to hold onto the key to the maintenance entrance of Bruce Wayne's building. Getting in this time was much easier than the first time. And, he hadn't brought his usual entourage with him, so he was much less conspicuous, especially since he was not wearing his makeup. He did not want this operation to be a loud one. He wanted to get in, do what he had to do, and get out.

Having been told that Bruce Wayne had stepped out to go and console his little friend Rachel Dawes after her surprising break up with Dent, he approached the elevator and pressed the up button. He was still unnoticed, thanks to the change of clothing. Joker looked like he belonged there.

The door of the elevator opened a few of the maintenance staff walked past him as he walked in. He inserted his maintenance key, pressed the button for the penthouse level, and smiled as the doors closed in front of him. Putting the hands into the pocket of his jacket, he wrapped one around the gun he was carrying. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to fire it, but a blunt object was always good to have.

When the elevator went _ding_ as he hit his destination, Joker cringed. After all, he was trying to be stealthy. As soon as the doors opened, he started moving. He could already see his target, and obviously she was surprised.

"Hello?" She said as she turned to look at him. Not recognizing him without the makeup, she figured that he was an employee or something. "Can I help you?"

"You can silently get in the elevator," Joker responded with a smile as the one on Camryn's face disappeared. She filled her lungs in order to scream, but Joker quickly pulled out his gun. He didn't point it at her, though, he just held it at his side. "Inside voices, please. If you just walk to the elevator like a good girl, everything will be just fine. I didn't come here to kill anybody, but I'm sure you know that I don't mind doing it."

Camryn looked around, knowing that Alfred was somewhere around there, and that if he stumbled upon this scene he would most certainly end up dead.

"Don't forget to leave your cell phone here," Joker suggested as she stood up. Slowly, Camryn removed her phone from her pocket and put it down on the coffee table. "Good, now walk." She obediently put one foot in front of the other, too scared to think of anything besides staying upright as the room started to spin. This time, though, it was more fear than anything that kept her from seeing straight.

Once in the elevator, Joker put the gun to the back of Camryn's neck as he pressed the button for the basement.

"Nothing funny, now," he told her, "if your hand goes anywhere near those buttons I'll blow your head off."

"I'm not going to touch anything," Camryn assured him. She felt like she was going to be sick.

The door opened on the basement level, where there were a few cars parked. Joker led her to a non descript brown van, opened the back door and shoved her in. As he got into the driver's seat. He checked the time. He was very far ahead of schedule. Good thing he knew where to find Maroni.

He calmly pulled out of the parking lot, checking the rearview mirror to see what Camryn was doing. She was sitting in the middle of vehicle, legs crossed Indian-style, looking very stoic.

"You're taking this like a champ," Joker informed her. Camryn chose not to answer. "Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud. This is fun!"

"Where are you taking me?" Camryn asked.

"According to a very reliable source," Joker responded, thinking of what Sidney had said to him, and also about the kind of person Maroni was, "you don't want to know." He pointed the van in the direction of downtown and continued driving. During the day, Maroni usually hung out in a small bar in one of the worse areas of the city. There he would do his Don Carleone impressions. Joker knew this because he had watched him extensively.

Camryn could see through the windshield, and she knew exactly where the Joker was taking her. She was being delivered to Maroni. Try as she might to maintain her stony expression, she could feel her resolve starting to break down. By the time the van had stopped, it was all she could do to keep herself from bursting into sobs.

When Joker put the car in park and looked back to see her scared expression, he smiled. "That's more like it. Now, you're going to open the door and walk inside. No funny stuff, OK? See those two men standing in front of the door? I'm sure they'll recognize you. And if they don't, I'll make sure you don't run too far."

Camryn nodded as she reached for the door handle. Under normal circumstances, she would have tried her luck getting away. She was pretty quick and thought she might be able to outrun them. But, in her current condition, running was out of the question. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for what was to come.


	13. Not For Long

By his reckoning, Alfred was in deep trouble. He wasn't sure how or when or why it happened, but Camryn was missing, and her cell phone was in the middle of the coffee table. Surely this was a bad sign, for young people never went out without their cell phones these days. After glancing at the clock, her saw that Master Wayne had been gone for about an hour and a half.

Knowing that he was with Rachel made Alfred slightly reluctant to disturb him, but this was probably something that needed to be brought to his attention immediately. Sure, the news wouldn't exactly spoil with keeping, but Bruce would be upset if he knew that Alfred didn't tell him as soon as he found out.

And so, Alfred trudged over to the phone.

-------------------------------------

"I hate that stupid little girl," Rachel sniveled as Bruce listened quietly. Obviously, she was talking about Sidney. "I'm _glad_ the Joker took her. I hope that he kills her."

"You don't mean that," Bruce corrected her.

"I do," Rachel assured him, "I really do. It would serve both of them right. She came here and in a matter of days she has managed to completely screw my life up."

"It's not completely screwed up, Rachel," Bruce assured her, "Harvey Dent is just one man. There are others out there who would be more than happy to take his place."

"It's not that …" Rachel trailed off, "it's just that … I can't figure out what makes her so much better than me. I mean, she's a _child_ with no job, no money of her own … she's here because her druggie boyfriend beat her up … Am I the only one who sees a problem with this?"

"Sometimes people can't help it," Bruce said with a shrug. They were sitting in Rachel's apartment, and the two of them were sitting in her living room area. She was on the couch and Bruce had the chair a few feet away.

"Don't give me that crap," Rachel spat. "You've met Harvey. He's like … perfect."

"No one is perfect," Bruce reminded her.

"Yeah, well Harvey Dent comes pretty close," Rachel assured him. "And I _know_ that whatever happened between them it wasn't Harvey's idea." Bruce shrugged. She was probably right, but that didn't change the fact that it had happened. "And it's not like I wouldn't have dumped him anyway … but _he _broke up with _me!_ You'd think he'd have the decency to at least let me do the breaking." Again, Bruce shrugged. He wasn't really sure about what to say at this juncture.

"Why did you call me, Rachel?" Bruce asked.

"Because you're my friend," Rachel answered, looking slightly confused. "Would you rather I'd called someone else?"

"I was just surprised, that's all," Bruce answered quickly, realizing that he had said the wrong thing. "And of course a little conflicted. You probably saw the newspaper this morning."

"Yeah, your idiot girlfriend blew up her spot," Rachel concluded.

"She's not my girlfriend," Bruce said defensively, "nor is she an idiot. But she _is_ in some danger."

"I can't believe I'm second to _her_ now, too. The both of them … UGH!"

"I'm here, aren't I?" Bruce asked. "Obviously you are not second."

"But the fact that _that_ is one of the reasons why you would have considered _not_ coming," Rachel replied. "I don't know, it just feels like everything is going wrong." That was when Bruce's cell phone started ringing. When he saw that it was a call from home, his blood pressure started rising as his heart started beating in his ears.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Master Wayne," Alfred greeted, "I trust that everything is all right with Miss Dawes?"

"We're fine," Bruce answered, "what's going on?"

"Well …" Alfred began, "Miss Griffin seems to be missing."

"Have you tried calling her?" Bruce asked.

"I would have," Alfred answered, "but her cell phone is on the coffee table."

"Shit," Bruce muttered as he immediately stood up.

"What's going on?" Rachel asked as she got up as well, following him to her front door.

"I'll see you later, all right?" he said to Rachel as he kissed her on the cheek and continued out the door, grabbing his helmet and keys on the way out. He then redirected back to Alfred. "Did she leave anything? A note?"

"Nothing, sir," Alfred answered.

"Shit," Bruce repeated. "OK, I'll be right there."

-------------------------------------

"Nice of you to stop by, Cami," Maroni greeted Camryn as she walked into the little bar. "I've missed you. How's Wayne's penthouse?"

"Wonderful," Camryn answered, nodding.

"Joker just dropped you off?" Maroni asked. Camryn nodded some more. "Why don't you come sit down?" Camryn nodded and slid into the seat next to him. Maroni knew that he had to make this quick, because if anyone decided to alert the authorities, they knew where he usually was during the day. "Did you miss me?"

"Not really," Camryn answered.

"Wrong answer, sweetheart," Maroni informed her, "but lucky for you, I'm in a forgiving type o' mood. Are you hungry? You look hungry. You should eat something." He made a signal to one of the waiters, who disappeared back into the kitchen. "They'll get your usual."

"I don't have a usual," Camryn reminded him.

"Well, you do now," Maroni informed her as the waiter came back. He was so quick because he hadn't gone back into the kitchen to get food, but some rope and some pieces of cloth. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Easy way is you get into my car all by yourself and we go back to my place. The hard way is Giuseppe here ties you up and we throw you in my trunk. Which way would you like to do this?"

Camryn had been doing the easy way all day, it seemed like now would be a bad time to stop.

"The easy way, of course," Camryn answered.

"That's good," Maroni said as he stood up. "You're a smart girl."

"I wouldn't say that," Camryn told him. "After all, if I was smart, I wouldn't be in this situation, now would I?"

"True words," Maroni agreed, nodding solemnly. "But you are. And it's good that you're trying to make the best of it." He helped her out of her chair and then, as the two of them walked out of the bar, he put his hand in the small of her back, keeping her at a steady pace. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "I've got some plans for you, sweetheart."

"Great …" she muttered, not wanting to find out what they were at all.

"I think you're going to like them," Maroni assured her as he opened the door for her and she folded herself into the back seat of the car, doing her best to keep her face completely expressionless. He got in next to her and gently nuzzled her neck. "You look lovely, by the way."

---------------------------------

"Oh, don't be like that, Sidney," Joker mock-begged when Sidney would not speak to him at all. "I mean, I was only doing what I had to do." Sidney just glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. She had decided that Joker most likely was not going to be trying to hurt her as long as she didn't do anything ridiculous. "And besides, he's probably not even going to have the chance to do anything to her. You see, I have thought this out."

"Oh?" Sidney asked, forced out of her silence.

"Yes," Joker responded, "in a little bit, I'm going to go and pay Harvey Dent a visit, and we'll see if there isn't anything he can do for your little friend Camryn. She was very good, by the way. Didn't make any fuss, just got in the van and we drove off. Walked right into Maroni's bar, too. No problems.

"Bruce wasn't there?" Sidney asked.

"Nope. He was with Rachel Dawes," Joker answered. "But that's just as well. I wasn't trying to kill anyone yet today."

"You basically did, though," Sidney informed him. Joker shrugged.

"Just because I wasn't trying to doesn't mean I would have minded it," he told her. He sat down on the bed, considering changing back into his clothes, but deciding it would have been too much effort at the moment. He had already put his makeup back on before coming into Sidney's cell, but he was still wearing the clothes he had worn to sneak into Wayne's building. "I don't think he'll kill her right away, though. She might have a chance."

"Doubt it," Sidney responded. "I'm going to be _very_ upset with you if she ends up dead."

"You mean you're not upset with me already?" Joker asked, smiling at her. Sidney did not answer that question as she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms in front of her chest. It was rather difficult to stay angry at him. Though she knew that he was a vicious, ruthless criminal, he just didn't look dangerous to her. And, besides the kidnapping, he hadn't done anything to her.

"What's next on your agenda for the day?" She changed the subject. "What are you planning on doing to Harvey?"

"I'm not going to do anything _to_ Harvey," Joker responded, "I'm going to make _him_ do something for me."

"What?" Sidney pursued.

"You're so nosey," Joker sighed. "Since you _really_ must know, he's going to kill Maroni for me. Hopefully before he kills your little friend."

"Harvey wouldn't kill someone," Sidney told him.

"I'm hoping that for _you_ he would," Joker informed her. "I mean, if I threaten to kill you if he doesn't kill Maroni, I think he might do it. Don't you?"

"I don't know," Sidney answered. "Harvey's usually about the bigger picture. If he kills someone and anyone finds out about it, he won't exactly have much … credibility as the DA."

"Oh, very true," Joker agreed, "in fact, if he kills someone and anyone finds out about it, he probably won't _be_ the DA anymore."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up."

"You should have more faith in yourself," Joker informed her, "I mean, he didn't seem like the sort of person who would cheat on his girlfriend, but he did. Maybe he'll start killing people for you, too."

"Knock yourself out," Sidney said. "Do you by any chance have anything I could wear? The dress is a bit drafty."

"Oh, but it looks good on you," Joker told her. "You'll have to wear it for now. Maybe I'll bring you something when I come back. Unfortunately, there are not enough hours in the day when I _don't_ have to constantly check in on you-"

"So this is checking in on me?" Sidney asked.

"Of course," he answered, "I have to make sure you're not acting up, you know? Unruly hostages are never a good thing, especially when you're trying to hold them for ransom. It's important to return them in the same condition you stole them, but sometimes that's just not possible. But since you're good we might be able to handle it."

"I thought we weren't holding me for ransom?" Sidney told him, recalling the first conversation they had.

"This is a different kind of ransom."

----------------------------------------------

Bruce was sitting on the same couch on which he had left Camryn, leaning forward, elbows braced on his knees, head down. In his hands he held her cell phone. He was staring at it as if _it_ had failed and not him. After all, inside of it were the tools he could have used to find her. If only it had gone with her.

He hadn't bothered with calling the police. Maroni owned most of them, and they weren't going to actually look for her. He _did_ call Harvey to tell him that his witness was now missing, but he didn't seem to _really_ care about it. That was understandable. Something of his was missing as well.

Not that Camryn was _his_.

But that was his fault.

"I need to _do_ something," Bruce said to Alfred. "I know where he lives, I could-"

"Not a good idea, Master Wayne," Alfred interrupted him, "at least not now. And besides, we don't even know if it _is_ Maroni who has her. It could be someone else." Of course, that was unlikely, but still a possibility nonetheless.

"I can't wait for night," Bruce told his butler. "She could be dead by then."

"Well, what do you propose to do right _now_?" Alfred asked of him, knowing that it would of course be up to him to be the sensible one. "I realize that you feel you need to fix this, but one girl is not worth jeopardizing everything." Bruce did not say anything in response to that. Instead, he lifted his head and continued to stare straight ahead. "I shouldn't have left."

"You couldn't have known," Alfred reminded him. "I should have been paying closer attention."

"OK, well, sitting around here blaming ourselves is not really going to do much good," said Bruce as he stood up. "I'm going to go and see if I can find Maroni at any of his usual spots. That will at least take me an hour or two."

"And if you find him?" Alfred asked.

"I'll figure that out if I get there," he answered as he once again grabbed his motorcycle jacket. All of his cars were far too conspicuous.

What he didn't tell Alfred as he left his apartment was that if he found Maroni, he wasn't completely sure if he would be able to keep himself from beating the living daylights out of him.

-------------------------------------------

"Harvey Harvey Harvey Dent …" Joker trailed off as he drove through the streets of Gotham. He was no longer unaccompanied. One of his goons was actually doing the driving as he sat in the back of the van. They were circling the block on which the DA's office was located, waiting for Harvey to exit for the day. "Where _are_ you?"

The goon driving found a parking spot close to the door of the office and cut the engine. Joker glanced at his watch. It was about 4:30, and he expected Harvey to be coming out soon. He was practically shivering with anticipation.

"Doesn't he know that we're waiting for him?" Joker said to no one in particular. As usual, the goons did not respond, but just looked straight ahead. "Oh! Oh! There he is!"

The two people in the front of his van snapped their heads towards the front door of the office. Sure enough, there he was.

"Go! Go!" Joker ordered as he shooed them out of the van. Quickly, the two of them opened their doors and started crossing the street.

In a rare moment of ignorance, Harvey was not paying attention to what was going on around him on the street. He was too absorbed in thinking about Sidney, wondering if she was OK, where she was … if she was even still alive. These thoughts consumed him so entirely that he didn't notice the two people walking towards him until he bumped into them.

"Sorry," he muttered as he tried to continue past them, but one of them put a hand lightly on his arm.

"We have someone who wants to talk to you," the man on the right informed him. Harvey raised both of his eyebrows.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"Believe me, you want to talk to him," the other assured him. "He has some information regarding something you have … lost." Immediately it clicked in his head. The Joker was around there somewhere, waiting to talk to him.

"Take me to him, then," Harvey said. The two men immediately turned around and started walking back across the street. Harvey followed at a safe distance, and when one of them hold the sliding door of the van open for him, he didn't hesitate to climb in the back. Upon getting into the van, he immediately set eyes on the Joker.

"Hello, Harvey," he was greeted. "Take a seat!" As he sat down on the floor of the van, one of the goons started the engine and started driving away.

"Where's Sidney?" He demanded.

"Easy there," Joker said, holding up his hands, "Sidney is just fine. A little dirty, but unharmed and safe for now. But whether or not sure remains that way is up to you."

"What do you want?"

"Jeez, will you calm down?" Joker asked. "You just keep bombarding me and I feel very pressured. Obviously I'm going to tell you everything I want you to know. But first you need to, uh, shut up."

"Fine. Talk."

"Thank you," Joker murmured. "Now, I'm sure you know all about Sal Maroni?"

"Yes," Harvey answered slowly, nodding.

"Well, I've decided that I really don't like him," Joker stated. "He's a disgrace, pitiful, et cetera, et cetera … anyway. I want you to kill him."

"Why can't you do it?" Harvey asked.

"Because I want _you_ to do it?" Joker responded. "And, every day he lives … well … you are going to know about my discontent. Do you understand?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry, you'll know," Joker assured him. "I'm assuming you know where to find our friend Sal?"

"I know where he lives," Harvey answered.

"Good," Joker said, nodding. "Well, good luck! And remember, _you_ have to kill him. No hiring someone else to do the job for you." Suddenly, he yanked the sliding door open and shoved Harvey out of it. Luckily, they were facing the sidewalk, so he rolled into a parked car instead of oncoming traffic. Harvey slowly stood up and dusted off his jacket. He watched as the van continued down the street, and saw as Joker tossed his briefcase out the door as well.

Sighing, Harvey started walking. After all, he couldn't just leave it there.

He also couldn't just leave Sidney in the hands of the Joker. Of course, there was the question of whether or not he _could_ kill someone. Harvey Dent was far from a killer. He put killers behind bars, he prosecuted murderers. Could he really become something he hated with such a passion?

He believed that he could do the actual killing part for sure. But could he get away with it? That was the bigger problem. The terrible part was he didn't even have anyone he could ask for advice as to how to go about this. He just had to do it.

Dr. Crane had acquired his own key to Sidney's cell so that he would no longer have to ask the Joker for one. Just before he left for the day, he decided that he would go and check on her, just to make sure that everything was going all right for her. He also had with him some inmate clothing.

Before entering her cell, Dr. Crane put on his mask and became Scarecrow.

When she heard the door open, Sidney snapped her head in that direction. When she saw that it was Scarecrow, though, she looked away.

"I brought you some clothes," he said as he put the pile down on the mattress next to her. "I know the dress can't be too comfortable. Couldn't do anything about shoes, though."

"Thanks …" Sidney answered slowly as she picked up the clothing and inspected it. It was just a plain, grey t-shirt and pants to go with them. Far from stylish, but they would undoubtedly be warmer than the dress she had been wearing since yesterday.

"You're welcome …" Scarecrow trailed off as he started backing out of the room.

"Can you at least tell me where we are?" Sidney asked before he closed the door behind him. "I mean, it's not like I'm going to be able to tell anyone."

"Can't do that," Scarecrow answered, fearing that if he did, she would be able to put the pieces together and figure out who he was. "You have to be in the dark for now, but if Harvey Dent does what he's supposed to do, you won't be here for long."

"I don't think he will," Sidney responded. "I think I might be here for a while." Scarecrow shrugged and then shut the door behind him, resolving that she _wouldn't_ be there for much longer if he had anything to say about it.


	14. Chunks Are Missing

As Bruce had feared, Maroni was not to be found in any of his usual hang outs, meaning that he was either in his home or some other hiding place. If the latter was the case, he really wasn't feeling very confident in his ability to find Camryn before anything horrible happened to her. The only thing that he _did_ have going for him was that the sun would be setting soon, and he could really get some work done.

But first, he was going to stop by Maroni's house, just to see if there were any signs of Camryn there. Not sure what he was looking for, he stood across the street leaning against his bike, staring up at the townhouse which Maroni had listed as his home address.

There were no terrified screams or sounds of harsh contact coming from the house, but of course that didn't mean anything. She could be dead. Or, she could have been somewhere else.

Suddenly, a car stopped in front of the townhouse and the doors opened. Bruce immediately put his helmet back on and pretended that he was getting on his bike, though he was really watching as Maroni got out of the car. Camryn was not inside that car. He waited to see if one of the men opened the trunk and pulled her out, but that didn't happen. Instead, the driver closed the door and drove off, which wasn't helpful to Bruce, who was, of course, trying to figure out where the hell Camryn was.

He listened closely to see if Maroni said anything helpful, but there was nothing. He walked up the stairs with one of his goons, who opened the door for him and the two of them disappeared into the house. And then something occurred to Bruce. Maroni would not be keeping a hostage, especially a female one, around his family.

Bruce couldn't help thinking he was an idiot as he started his bike and rode away. So, that ruled out Maroni's house, but there was still the rest of Gotham.

-----------------------------------

But, of course, Bruce wasn't taking the basement into consideration. Nor the fact that Sal Maroni was a particularly vicious sort of human being who knew how to hide things from other people. After all, he wouldn't have gotten to where he was if he didn't know how to keep some secrets.

And he had tons of secrets. Camryn was not the first person he had kept in his basement. Though, this time he knew that he was going to have to be a little creative, because though she had cooperated in getting there, he knew her cooperation wouldn't last long.

So, he had gotten a nice, big box for her. It was a plain box, just a bit of plywood assembled in order to fit a relatively tall girl inside of it. On the box, he had placed multiple locks and a few hooks so that he could use some wire to anchor the box to the wall. He didn't want the box falling over. The contents were … excitable, and falling boxes made a lot of noise. Especially heavy ones.

That night, after he had sent his wife and children out to go and see a play, having feigned illness so that he could stay behind, he headed into his basement.

After unlocking Camryn's box, he swung the door open and beheld his captive. She looked very cute bound and gagged.

"Hey, Cami," he greeted her as he pulled her out of the box. "I hope you found the … accommodations to your liking." Seeing as she couldn't actually speak to Maroni, she just narrowed her eyes at him. He slapped her across the face. "Don't you look at me like that, little girl. Who do you think you are?" The slap made her eyes start to water. "Oh .. I'm sorry, you have a headache, don't you?"

He reached behind her head and untied the gag.

"So, now it's time for us to talk. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get around to you, but you know I'm a busy person."

"You know I wouldn't expect you to go out of your way for me," Camryn said to him.

"That's what I liked about you," Maroni told her, "you always knew your place. You never used to give me any trouble and now look at you."

"Well, you tried to kill me," Camryn reminded him. "That kind of rid me of all my desires to please you."

"Shame …" he trailed off as he touched her face lightly, "you were one of my favorites. Now, I really _am_ going to have to kill you."

"Good, because the box was _not_ fun," Camryn stated.

"Oh, well I'm not going to kill you, yet," Maroni assured her. "I think you need at least another day in the box, you know? Think about what you've done. If you had just minded your own business, we wouldn't be in this situation." He ran his hand down one of her thighs suggestively as he said this. Camryn tried to knee him in the crotch in response, but her hands were bound, so she had no leverage or balance and couldn't really get much behind it.

Maroni caught her by the knee and held it.

"What are you doing?" He asked her as he started to kiss her neck.

"What are _you_ doing?" Camryn responded.

"Reminding you who you belong to," Maroni answered, "and that you really shouldn't try to bite the hand that feeds." He then kissed her on the mouth, hard, digging his teeth into her lips hard enough that they could both taste the metallic bitterness of her blood. Then, he slapped her across her mouth once more. "It's a tough lesson. Might take a while. Good thing you're not going anywhere."

--------------------------------------

The first thing Batman had done was gone back to Maroni's house as soon as night fell, hoping that he would just lead him to what he was looking for. But, either he had missed him leaving, or Maroni had no plans to leave the house that night. However, he _did_ still manage to see something interesting, and that was Harvey Dent standing outside of the townhouse in the very same spot he himself had been standing earlier with his bike.

What was Harvey Dent doing at Salvatore Maroni's house?

It didn't seem like Harvey actually had any intentions to go inside. He was just standing there. Was it possible that Maroni had Sidney as well?

No, Batman decided. The Joker wouldn't have kidnapped Sidney in such a public manner just to hand her over to someone else. He had a reason for taking her. Perhaps that reason had something to do with why Harvey Dent was standing there. Or it could have had nothing to do with it.

"A little far from home, aren't we, Harvey?" Batman asked as he landed next to Harvey after a quick descent. Harvey jumped slightly when he heard the voice, but when he saw who it was, he calmed down. Batman didn't scare him.

"Just doing a little surveillance," Harvey answered as he continued to look up at the townhouse. "But it doesn't look like he's home."

"Surveillance for what?" Batman asked.

"Well, I am doing an investigation on him," Harvey reminded him, deciding to not go with the truth. Of course, Batman would not condone Harvey killing someone. That information was best kept to himself. "Surveillance is usually a big part of investigations. What are _you_ here for?" Batman chose not to answer that one. "Not much crime to fight around here."

"Criminals are everywhere in Gotham," Batman assured his companion.

"Yeah, well," Harvey began as he looked up to the sky, "you don't have to tell me that." When he looked back to where Batman had just been standing, he was gone. But that was just as well, as Harvey was still thinking.

There was a gun in his pocket. Everyone in Gotham owned a gun, and he was no exception. However, he rarely carried it around with him, and the weight felt strange on his leg. He wanted to take it out and throw it as far as he possibly could. But, he decided to hold on to it, just in case he _did_ eventually work up the nerve to walk in the house, find Sal Maroni, and kill him.

It would have helped if he actually knew whether or not the man was inside his house. As it was, Harvey had no idea. He shoved his hand into the pocket with the gun inside and took a deep breath.

-------------------------------

"How are you going to know if he's done it?" Sidney asked.

"I've got people watching him for me," Joker responded. "I sure hope he doesn't take too long."

"I still don't think that he's going to do it," Sidney informed him, "I mean, yeah, he cares about me. But he's not a killer."

"Everyone is a killer," Joker assured her, "you just have to push the right buttons."

"I have known Harvey Dent for most of my life," Sidney reminded him. "That man cannot kill anyone."

"Uh, no offense," Joker began, "but you haven't been around him for about ten years, right? That is not a short amount of time."

"People like Harvey Dent don't change that way."

"Would you like to put some money on that?" Joker asked.

"I don't have any money," Sidney told him.

"OK, I will give you half of my money," Joker said to it, "and if he doesn't kill him, you get to have _all _my money. And if he does kill him, I get to take my money back. Nevermind that if he doesn't kill him, I'm going to have to kill you."

"What?" Sidney asked.

"What did you think I was going to trade?" Joker asked, slightly surprised. "Harvey kills Maroni and I don't kill you. And you better hope he does it because I don't think your friend is going to like the plans he has for her."

"What do you mean?" Sidney asked.

"He didn't tell me specifically," Joker informed her, "in fact, he didn't actually tell me at all. But he wanted her back pretty badly, so I'm sure he's got something nasty in store. Mobsters don't like it when there are people who know their secrets out on the street. They like to take care of those sorts of things pretty quickly."

"If she's dead, I swear to god …" Sidney trailed off.

"Do you plan on doing something?" Joker inquired, seeming genuinely curious, "Because I'd be pretty interested to see what that might be."

"I will do my very best to make you completely miserable," Sidney assured him, looking him straight in the eye, which was something that surprised Joker; people very rarely looked him in the eye. Unless, of course, he made them do it.

"Well, then, I'm not going to lie," said Joker, his trademark grin firmly on his face, "I'm kind of hoping that she's dead."

------------------------------------------------

It was nearly dawn and Harvey Dent was still standing outside of Salvatore Maroni's home. He had witnessed his wife and children returning from whatever they had been doing that evening, but he had yet to see Maroni. That either meant that he had been there the whole time, or he just hadn't planned on coming home.

If he had known what had gone on between those walls with him standing right outside of them, he would have been quite sickened. Because, back in the box, and quite a bit the worse for wear, was Camryn Griffin. It was rather uncomfortable for her, as she couldn't get her legs to work properly and the box was upright. So, the right side of her face was what was holding up her body. That was uncomfortable enough, but her face was also sticky with tears and blood, so it hurt especially badly when it rubbed against the rough plywood. The gag wrapped around her head offered some relief, but not nearly enough.

She would have much rather just had Maroni kill her.

As it was, she was still alive, and that meant that she was in for much, much more than what she had just gone through. Probably the only reason he had stopped was because he _didn't _want to kill her yet. He was a cruel bastard, and Camryn was determined to die before the next time the door to her pseudo coffin opened. She chuckled softly as she reflected that it probably _would_ be her coffin, unless Maroni decided to just dump her into the river.

Just to see, she put more of her weight on the door to see if it would just fall open, but no such luck. There were at least two locks on it, because neither the top nor the bottom budged. Sighing, she tried to shift her weight backwards, but that only hurt her arms, seeing as her hands were bound behind her back. So, she shifted back to her face, and prayed for whatever he had in store would happen quickly as Harvey Dent started walking down the street.

Not tonight.

------------------------------

"Nothing," Bruce sighed as he tossed his mask to the ground and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I have no idea where she is."

"Did you try his house, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked, composed as always.

"He wouldn't keep her around his wife and children," Bruce responded. "She doesn't strike me as a quiet hostage."

"I think you of all people should know that there are ways to keep people quiet," Alfred reminded him. "And Mr. Maroni might be even more familiar with those sorts of techniques than you are."

"So you think I should check his house, then?" Bruce asked as he looked out the window. The sun had just started to peek through the spaces between the high rises of Gotham.

"I think it would be a little foolish not to," Alfred answered. "No stone left unturned and all that." Bruce nodded. He would feel like a complete idiot if she had actually been there the whole time. But even so, better late than never.

Unless, of course, he was _too_ late. Then it might as well be never.

-------------------------------

"Ohhh Harvey …" Joker trailed off upon hearing that Harvey Dent had not succeeded in killing Salvatore Maroni. "You're going to make me lose my bet." He glanced over at Sidney, who was sleeping, stomach side down, on the bed. Sighing, he got out his knife and walked over to her. "I really wish I didn't have to do this," he said to her prostrate form as he lowered the knife to her arm and cut a healthy slice of skin from her tricep.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" She shouted as she shot up and lifted her arm so that she could inspect the damage. Then she looked at Joker, who was holding a piece of skin in her arm. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"I need something to send to Harvey," Joker responded as he pulled the big black duffel bag from beneath the bed and dug a small gift box out of it. It was purple with a gold bow wrapped around the lid. He carefully placed the chunk of skin inside and motioned to his goon to take the box.

"Deliver this to Mr. Dent's office, please," he asked politely. "Write his name on it. Just leave it on the front desk and walk out." The goon nodded, took the box, and left. "I had to do it."

"You did NOT have to cut a chunk out of my arm," Sidney assured him as she put her hand over it to try and stop the blood from going everywhere. "Well, don't you have any bandages, or something, you nutcase?" Before she knew it, Sidney was against the wall with a hand around her throat.

"I am _not_ a nutcase," Joker said to her. "Take it back."

"No!" Sidney exclaimed. "You're a FUCKING LUNATIC!" Then, she felt the impact of his hand on her cheek. Momentarily, she looked away, but then she looked right back into his eyes. "Are you trying to prove me _wrong_?" Sidney asked. "Because you're not doing a very good job."

"Put her down," came a voice from the doorway. Joker looked over his shoulder to see Scarecrow in the doorway.

"Or what?" He asked.

"Just put her down," Scarecrow said again, then, he spotted the blood running down her arm. "What did you do?"

"I just needed something to send to Mr. Dent," Joker answered. He still hadn't let go of Sidney's neck. "You know, to speed his progress. I was gonna cut off some of her hair to go with it, but she wasn't too pleased with me so I decided to forgo. He'll get the picture."

"You _cut off_ a piece of her skin?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Just a little bit from her arm," Joker answered. Scarecrow grabbed him by the back of his jacket and dragged him off of Sidney. Shocked, Joker turned on him and punched him in the face, forcing Scarecrow to let go and stagger backwards. Scarecrow stared at Joker for a moment, and then turned around and stormed out, letting the door slam loudly behind him.

As he moved briskly down the hallway, he ripped off his mask and replaced his glasses. That was the last straw.

Before descending to the rest of the institution, Dr. Crane regained control over himself and walked calmly to this office. After picking up his phone receiver, he took a deep breath and then dialed a number.

"Hello," he said, "yes, I'd like to make an anonymous tip …"


	15. Oopsies!

Harvey looked rather haggard as he walked into his office that morning. Of course, that was to be expected, as he had gotten no sleep at all. As he entered, his receptionist held out a small purple and gold gift box to him.

"This came for you," she informed him as he took it in his hand.

"Thanks …" he muttered as he continued past her into his office. After throwing his briefcase onto one of the chairs, he opened the box and then immediately threw it across the room. He covered his mouth as his eyes widened.

Having recovered from his shock, he walked over to where the box had fallen. It had landed with the open side down, and when Harvey picked it up, the piece of bloody skin stuck to the beige carpet. Taking a deep breath, he picked it up and put it back on the box. Joker hadn't been kidding.

Chunks of skin today, Harvey didn't even want to think about what it would be tomorrow if he didn't complete his task. It didn't take Harvey very long to make up his mind. Tonight he was going to do it. He really didn't have much of a choice. Maroni's life for Sidney's. Thinking on it, Harvey concluded that it shouldn't have been such a hard choice.

He placed the piece of skin back in the box and replaced the lid, trying his best to forget about it, but failing miserably. All he would see for the rest of the day was the little bloody square on his carpet, and it made him feel sick.

--------------------------------------

After completing his phone call, Scarecrow knew that he had to move quickly. The police were not going to move slowly after receiving such a tip, and he wanted to get Sidney out of there before they got there. He didn't want Joker to have a chance to use her has a reason for them to not shoot on sight.

He hadn't even bothered to put his mask back on, having been far too shaken up to remember it. Once he reached the door, he shoved the key into the lock and pushed it open.

"What the …" Sidney trailed off as she saw Jonathan Crane entering her cell. "What's going on."

"You're coming with me," he said to her as he grabbed her by her uninjured arm and picked her up from the bed. Joker pulled out a gun and held it up.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to give her back to Dent, but there is no way I'm going to let her stay here with you. You _promised_ me that you would not hurt her."

"She's not hurt!" Joker reminded her. "She's only missing a bit of her skin."

"I'll put her in solitary or something," he lied, "she's not staying here."

"You think so?" Joker asked.

"I know so," Crane answered. Throughout this exchange, he had been backing slowly towards the door. Once he felt that he was close enough, he got out of the door and let it close behind him, locking it from the outside, even though he knew Joker had a key with which he could open it from the inside. "Hurry up," he grunted.

"How did you know-" Sidney began, but then she looked at the suit he was wearing, and she had seen this suit already today. "YOU'RE Scarecrow?" She demanded.

"Hush," he answered as he continued with her down the stairs. He knew that it wasn't going to take long for Joker to get out of the cell, and he needed to be around people.

He smirked as he came down the back staircase, because he could see the SWAT team moving up the other staircase.

"Oh my fucking god," was all Sidney could manage. She was sure that after the past few days, she didn't think there was much that could surprise her, but she was obviously wrong. "What the fuck is wrong with this place?"

"Quiet," Dr. Crane ordered as he brought her to his office, sat her down, and locked the door behind him. "I'm going to be in trouble."

"Well, I don't think he's getting out of that one," Sidney stated. "I mean, he's cornered."

"Oh, don't worry, he'll escape," Jonathan assured her, "he always does. He probably knew I was going to do this and has already come up with multiple escape routes."

"Why didn't you do it sooner? Gosh …" Sidney trailed off as she looked around his office. "I mean, I've been two stories above you this whole time and you didn't think that maybe you should try and get me out?"

"Well, as I told you, Joker and I are kind of friends … at least we were. Don't think I'm gonna be forgiven for this one. Hopefully, keeping you from Dent will keep him from trying to kill us both."

"You mean you're still going to keep me here?" Sidney asked.

"Not here," Jonathan answered. "People come into this office, someone will see you. No, I'm taking you to my home. That is, if you promise to stay there."

"Your home?" Sidney asked. "Where is that?"

"Not too far from where Harvey Dent lives, actually," he answered. "But I mean it. I'll leave you there, and you can do whatever you want, but you have to _promise_ me that you're not going to try and go anywhere."

"Is there food in this place?" Sidney asked.

"Yes," Crane answered.

"And a clean bed? And a shower?"

"All that and more," Jonathan assured her. "You'll be very comfortable, I can assure you."

"Then I'll stay there," she assured him. Never mind that he had been allowing Joker to hold her captive for the past few days. She was just happy to be out of there, and she could appreciate the huge risk he had just taken. The Joker didn't seem like the type of person who would take this sort of thing lightly. "I'd be quite happy to, actually."

-------------------------------

Meanwhile, two stories above them, Jonathan's prediction was coming true. The thing about SWAT teams is they are not very silent. Joker could hear their heavy boots plodding up the stairs, and rather than opening the door through which Dr. Crane had just escaped with his hostage, he went into his duffle bag and grabbed a quarter stick of dynamite, wishing he had something a little neater, but not dwelling on it for too long.

He lit the fuse and then, quickly as he could, he got underneath the bed. As soon as he had gotten under cover, there was an explosion. It was a small one, but still quite powerful. It blew the door off its hinges, but it also knocked out the wall. Really, it knocked out the whole room. Joker hadn't been killed the explosion, but if he wasn't quick, he would be killed in the fire.

The floor collapsed and he started falling down. Once he hit the floor, he started rolling. He was now a story below where he started. He exited through the place where the door to the room would have been and moved quickly to the nearest window. Without hesitation, he jumped out. After all, he wasn't too far from the ground, and there was a pretty big heap of garbage beneath him.

He chuckled as he fell through the air. His landing hadn't been as soft as he thought it was going to be, but he wasn't dead, and that was what was important. He could deal with Scarecrow later. First he had to find a new hiding spot.

---------------------------------------

"I didn't say anything to them," Camryn said to Maroni, doing her best to remain calm. The blood on her face and in her hair had dried, and she was sure she looked a mess, but she wouldn't let her voice betray the fact that she was just as messy, if not more so, on the inside. "How could I? I don't know anything."

"Then what are you so afraid of?" Maroni asked her as he gently ran a knife down the front of her shirt, ripping it as he went.

"You," she answered, "because you're a fucking lunatic."

"Me?" Maroni asked. "I think I'm pretty sane …" He finished with her shirt and moved on to her pants, which were actually Bruce's silk pajamas. "These are nice. Wayne give you these?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Think I might send them back to him once we're done here," said Maroni. "I think he would want them back."

"I don't think that would be necessary," Camryn assured him. "He won't miss them. You could keep them, if you like." Maroni slapped her across the face and told her not to be smart. "Oh, but I thought that was what you liked about me?" This prompted Maroni to hit her again, harder this time. The punch sent her sprawling to the floor. Being that her hands were tied behind her back, there was nothing to cushion her fall except for her face.

Once she was on the floor, Maroni did his best to shove his shoe into her stomach by means of her bellybutton. Being that a bellybutton is much smaller than a foot, Maroni saw that it was going to take a few tries, but he wasn't going anywhere, and he wasn't really one to give up.

But, after a few minutes of that, he got rather bored, and the physical activity had left him rather … excited. She was a pretty girl, after all, even with all the blood. And she was completely at his disposal. Surely any man would have taken advantage of such a situation.

----------------------------------------

Sidney had never been happier to be clean. Granted, the hot water had stung the wound on her arm, but she was able to overlook it in exchange for twenty minutes in the shower. Upon getting out, she wrapped herself in a warm towel and walked into Jonathan's spare bedroom. On the bed he had placed some of what she assumed were his own clothes to put on.

On the clothes, he had pinned a note, which basically reiterated his request that she stay where she was and added that she could help herself to anything in the apartment. He would be back sometime around six, at which time they would discuss what was happening.

Sidney didn't want to discuss what was happening, all she wanted to do was climb into the bed, which looked spotlessly clean, and sleep for days. She did climb into the bed, but found herself unable to sleep. There was far too much going on in her mind, one of them being her confusion at being totally OK with being in the apartment of 'Scarecrow'. After all, he had been kind of holding her hostage to. The fact that 'Scarecrow' was also Dr. Crane did not help. She really liked Dr. Crane, despite Harvey's warnings.

She chuckled, reflecting that Harvey had most certainly been right. But that was not surprising. Harvey was always right.

Really, she knew that she should not feel so safe where she was, but she did. Minus the fact that Joker was probably going to be looking for her. She figured that he would be more angry with Scarecrow than he was with her. After all, none of this was _her_ fault. Sure, she could have fought a little harder, but she was ready to get away from Joker. When people started cutting chunks of skin from her body, that was when she decided that the time had come.

Of course, it was impossible to tell how long this particular stage would last, but for the moment, she was safe. And the bed was wonderful. She did her best to banish unwanted thoughts from her mind, and finally managed to fall asleep, thinking that it would only be for a short while.

But, when she woke up, it was dark, and there was someone in her room. Upon seeing the shadow in the corner, she jumped. But, when she looked more closely, she could see that it was Dr. Crane.

"Sorry," he told her, "I didn't mean to startle you. How long have you been sleeping?"

"Since I got out of the shower …" she answered. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as they adjusted to the darkness of the room. "Guess I was tired."

"Understandable," Crane assured her, "are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

"I'm _starving,_" Sidney responded. The only thing the Joker had fed her was crackers and water. He seemed to find something amusing in that.

"I ordered some things for delivery. I wasn't sure what you would like, so I got a variety. It's in the kitchen if you'll follow me …" He got up from the chair he had been sitting in and left the room. Sidney quickly rolled out of the bed and padded after him into the kitchen. On the table was, indeed, a variety.

There were two pizza boxes, a few tin containers with spaghetti and salads inside, and two sandwiches of some sort. Then, beside the Italian section, there was the Chinese food. There were quite a few large white boxes, all unopened, so Sidney could not see what was inside them. Then, there was a Styrofoam container, which must have contained some sort of soup, and some fortune cookies.

"Wow," said Sidney as she approached the table. "You went all out."

"I wasn't sure what you would like," Jonathan said once more. "You can help yourself to whatever you want. I'm not really hungry."

"Thanks …" Sidney trailed off as she headed for the pizza. She opened the boxes to see one plain pie, and one with pepperoni on it. She immediately grabbed a slice of plain and took a bite. "So much better than crackers …" she murmured with a full mouth. "Do you have plates? And something to drink?"

"Of course …" Jonathan answered as he went into his cabinets and grabbed a plate and a glass. Then, he went into the refrigerator. "I'm afraid that all I have is orange juice and water."

"Orange Juice will be fine," Sidney said to him, not wanting any more water. Once she was all set with another slice of pizza and her drink, she sat down in one of the chairs. "So … Scarecrow …"

"I have to admit I was rather surprised by the way you handled the news," Jonathan said to her.

"Well, I only had some minor unpleasant experiences with Scarecrow. They didn't last long," Sidney reminded him. "At the time, I was just glad to be away from Joker. Now that I've had some time to think about it, I've decided it's more than just a little strange. What does Scarecrow do?"

"To fully explain that would take some time," Jonathan said to her, "and I don't think you would be very interested. But the short version is I like to conduct experiments. The human mind is very interesting to me, I respect the power it has over the body. I like to test its limits."

"Uh-huh …" Sidney said slowly. "I suppose Arkham is a good spot for that, then."

"Much better than good," Jonathan assured her. "And it was pretty advantageous for Joker, too. No one really thinks to check Arkham when they're looking for a hiding spot. Most people assume that the whole institution is in use. And, of course, they also assume that the employees are not trying to hide wanted criminals there."

"How long has he been hiding there?" Sidney asked.

"Oh, a while," Crane answered. "But I couldn't have him cutting parts of your body off."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Sidney said, "I can only imagine it would have gotten worse."

"You're right," Crane assured her. "He would have started small, and if Dent didn't kill Maroni tonight, he probably would have gone with a finger tomorrow, or maybe an ear. No offense, I know he's your friend and everything, but I didn't trust him to do what he had to do."

"It's all right," Sidney assured him, "neither did I."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

For the whole day, Harvey Dent had been sitting in front of Maroni's house in a car he had rented. He was taking no chances. If Maroni was home, or if he left, he would know about it.

At the moment, he knew Maroni was inside because of the traffic flowing in and out of the townhouse. For some reason, Maroni was conducting business from home today. Harvey didn't pause to think why this was. It didn't matter. He was just hoping that Maroni would send his wife and children away again tonight, leaving him alone in the house.

When darkness fell, Maroni was happily surprised. Daughter left with friends. Son left shortly after, followed closely by the wife, who was dressed like she was going to some sort of event.

Once again, Maroni was alone in his house. Now Harvey _did _think this was slightly odd. Mob bosses were usually at their most active at night, going to parties, et cetera. Yet, he had chosen to stay home.

Whatever the reason, Harvey was most obliged, as it made his task much easier. He put on a pair of gloves, just making sure that his fingerprints would not be found anywhere in Maroni's house, and then he started towards the back of the house.

Once he got in, he knew that he was going to have to move quickly. Maroni was not stupid; he would know that someone was in his house, especially since Harvey was going to have to break the back door down. Door breaking was very rarely silent. Unless Maroni was near the back door, he was going to have sufficient time to arm himself. That was the last thing Harvey wanted. He wasn't particularly great with a gun, and he was nervous at it was.

Wishing he had brought something to obscure his face, he stared at the back door, trying to open it with sheer force of will. That wasn't going to work, though. So, he lowered his shoulder and started barreling towards the door, hoping like hell that it would open for him.

It did, rather easily. But that was because it had been unlocked. The force of Harvey's body sent the door crashing into the wall behind it, making a considerable amount of noise.

"Shit …" he murmured.

Luckily for him, Maroni had been in the basement when he heard the crash.

Camryn had heard it, too, and despite everything started to feel a bit of hope.

"Get in there …" Maroni ordered as he buttoned his pants.

"No," she groaned as she tried to stand up, but was having a hard time getting herself off the floor. She had nothing to help her stand. Not to mention, she had not eaten or drank anything in about two days, which made her rather weak.

"Don't you tell me no," Maroni grunted as he picked her up by the hair and shoved her back into her box, throwing her clothes in after her. Once she was in, he locked the door and started to head up the stairs. Even though he was going quietly as he could, they still creaked slightly.

And, of course, he did not have a gun on him. The closest one was in the living room, underneath the cushions on the couch. If he could be quiet enough, he might be able to get to it before whoever the intruder was got to _him_.

But, no such luck. Harvey had heard him coming up the stairs, and was standing at the door to the basement, gun at the ready.

"Harvey Dent?" Maroni asked. He couldn't believe it. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Nope," Harvey said, and then, before he could stop himself, he pulled the trigger, hitting Maroni straight in the heart.

"What have you done?" Came a deep voice from behind him. Harvey turned to see Batman standing there.

"I had to do it …" Harvey trailed off, in a bit of a daze. "He was going to kill her …"

"Get out of here," Batman ordered as he went to pick up Maroni's body. "Someone will have heard the gunshots." Harvey didn't move, though. He was still a little bit in shock. He had just shot a man in the heart. "GO!" Batman shouted. "If they find out this was you, the-"

"I know …" Harvey trailed off, "everything will be ruined." But he still hadn't moved from his spot. Batman now had Maroni over his shoulders.

"LEAVE!" Batman ordered once more. He pushed Harvey towards the back door as he went himself. He had to do something with the body before the police arrived. Batman pushing him out the door finally woke up, and he realized that he really _did_ need to get out of there. He needed to find Joker to make sure that he didn't cut off any more of Sidney's body parts.

Meanwhile, Batman had folded Maroni's dead body into his car. He had to hide it. The bullet was still inside, thankfully, and Harvey had the murder weapon in his hands. All the big pieces of evidence were taken care of, and once he had hidden the body, he could go back and make sure that everything else was taken care of.

The best place to hide a body temporarily, he figured, was in the Batcave.

Harvey Dent, though, was driving in the other direction. Obviously, he had no idea how he was going to find the Joker, but if he stayed out in the open long enough, he would find him. And he would bring Sidney with him, and this whole thing would be over. He could put it behind him.

Hopefully.

He parked the rental car near the lot from which he had picked it up, thinking that in the morning all he would have to do was drive it in all the way and he would be fine. Once he got out of the car, he just started walking. He had no aim or destination, he was just trying to remain visible and easy to find.

------------------------------

"Now he does it …" Joker trailed off upon hearing that Harvey Dent had finally done what he was supposed to do. "When I don't have anything to give back to him." He rolled his eyes and sat up straight. He was sitting in the back of his van, seeing as he really had nothing else to do.

Well, that wasn't true. He had plenty to do. There was never a shortage of activities for the Joker. He was just a little upset. His leverage was gone, but that wasn't the reason he was actually upset. Of course, he didn't really care about holding up his end of the deal. No one expected him to hold up his end of the deal.

He actually missed Sidney.

"All right, where is he?" He asked the man on the other end of the cell phone line. "We're going to have to have a chat with Mr. Dent." The goon told him, and Joker told his driver where he could go. Joker got on his knees between the two seats in the front, keeping an eye out for Harvey Dent once he knew that they were close.

Luckily, he was easy to spot with that blonde hair.

"Ooh! There he is!" Joker exclaimed. "Stop! Stop!" The driver had been surprised and slammed on the brakes. The sound made Harvey look up, and he knew that Joker was inside the van. He didn't hesitate and started to walk towards it. As the doors swung open, the men started walking towards him, but when they saw that he was coming, they didn't really know what to do. The one closest to the sliding door opened it for him, and he climbed inside.

"Where is she?" He demanded as he looked around the van. It didn't take him long to figure out that Sidney was not in there with them. "You said-"

"I know what I said," Joker assured him, "but … there was a small … mishap."

"What do you mean mishap?" Harvey inquired. "Where is Sidney? You told me that if I killed Maroni, you would hand her over. I killed Maroni. Where is she?"

"OK, you see … the thing is, I don't exactly _know_ where she is. _But_, I know someone that does."

"I swear to God, if you don't stop playing these games with me-"

"I didn't _mean_ to lose her," Joker assured him, "I just … it was hard to hold onto her, all right? But, I'm pretty sure she's in a safe place right now. And you might know the person who has her."

"Who?" Harvey demanded.

"One of your favorite people, actually," Joker responded. "Dr. Jonathan Crane. We were hiding out on the top story of Arkham and he found us. I think he's got a bit of a sweet spot for our girl. Find him and you'll probably find her. I'm surprised that _she_ didn't let you know herself, though."

This was a shocker. If Crane had gotten her, why didn't he alert the authorities? All of Gotham knew about her kidnapping, and that meant Crane was well aware of the situation.

Harvey didn't even wait for the van to stop. He opened the door himself. Never mind that he had the most wanted criminal in Gotham sitting right in front of him, and he had a gun in the pocket of his jacket. There were more important things to take care of at the moment.


	16. Damaged

Upon returning from the Batcave, Batman found that, unfortunately, Maroni's house was now crawling with police. Batman walked around to the back of the house, staying in the shadows. As he was walking, he saw a small window at the level of the ground. It must have led into the basement. He pulled the window open and slipped through, after, of course, checking to make sure no one was down there.

After landing on the concrete floor, he looked around. He was, indeed, by himself.

It was surprisingly clean for a basement. There were a few things in storage along the walls, but plenty of room to move around. He started walking towards the stairs, but the door opened, and he immediately moved to the side just before the lights came on and Jim Gordon started walking down the stairs. His gun was drawn, but he was by himself for the moment.

"Gordon," Batman rumbled, which made the policeman jump, but he lowered his gun.

"What are you doing down here?" He demanded.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Batman responded.

"Reports of gunshots from the neighbors," Gordon answered. "We got here as soon as we could, but it looks like Maroni is gone." One of the officers from above called down to see if Gordon was all right, and he answered in the affirmative, that there was nothing down here and that he could stay up there. "We're thinking that he had a girl in his custody, the one who was taken from Bruce Wayne's apartment."

"You think the gunshots were aimed at her?" Batman asked, knowing, of course, that was not the case.

"Hard to say," he answered. "There was some blood on the carpet upstairs, but we won't know whose it is until tomorrow." Batman turned his back on Gordon and started stalking through the basement. The walls were lined with all sorts of junk and boxes. Some of them small, but some quite large.

One of them was much bigger than the others. It was as tall as a man, and it was anchored to the wall, suggesting that there was something pretty heavy inside. And, it was locked.

Batman's interest was, of course, piqued.

Padlocks had been installed on the wood, and it wasn't hard to rip of the base. He ripped off the bottom one first, and then the top. Even he was surprised when the door came crashing open and a limp body fell into his arms.

"Found her …" Gordon murmured as he started heading towards the steps, calling for an ambulance into a walkie-talkie. Batman looked quickly around, and spotted what he was looking for. There was a pile of blankets in the corner of the room. He grabbed one from the top of the pile and wrapped it around Camryn. He then picked her up. Her head rolled back and her arms would have hung limp if they were not wrapped up in the blanket. He couldn't just bring her back home. She needed a hospital, but he didn't think the ambulance was going to be fast enough.

He quickly took the stairs by threes and didn't stop as he passed by the multiple police officers inspecting the scene. He left through the back door and moved through backyards to the alley in which he had parked his car.

"Just hold on …" he murmured as he placed her in the passenger seat and then quickly got in the car himself. But, she couldn't hear him. It didn't even seem like she was awake. As he made sharp turns and curves, she couldn't even stay upright in the seat, and he had to use one hand to keep her from hitting everything.

Thankfully, Gotham General was not far, and, for the moment, no police were chasing him. Though, he knew that he wouldn't have much time to drop her off at the hospital before someone _did_ pick him up. But he had to at least make sure that she got there.

He skidded to a halt in front of the emergency entrance, which of course attracted some attention. There were a few EMTs standing outside with an ambulance. They were very surprised to see Batman getting out of his car, but when they saw his passenger, they sprang into action. A gurney was supplied and Camryn was placed onto it. It was as if Batman hadn't even been there and they left him standing there as they rolled Camryn inside.

Sirens could be heard in the distance and Batman quickly got back into his car. He was going to have to come back later, _without_ the Batmobile and the mask.

-----------------------------------

It wasn't hard to find Crane's apartment. He wasn't in the phone book, but Harvey Dent was the DA, and he knew where to look for the information he needed.

"CRANE!" He bellowed as he banged on the door.

"Uh oh …" Jonathan trailed off as he glanced towards the door. The fact that it had not just blown open made him pretty sure that it wasn't the Joker out there, but whoever it was didn't sound too happy. He moved towards the door and peeked through the hole. "Oh, it's Harvey Dent."

"Really?!" Sidney asked. "Let him in!"

"Do I have to?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, you have to!" Sidney answered. "Let him in!" Jonathan sighed as he slid the bolt out of place and removed the security chain. When he opened the door, it was easy to see that Dent was _clearly_ unhappy.

"Where is she?" He demanded.

"Right here!" Sidney exclaimed as she walked towards the door. Harvey, without waiting for an invitation to enter from Dr. Crane, pushed past him and swept Sidney into his arms, pressing his face into her hair.

"I was so scared," he whispered.

"This is just touching," Crane observed, "Please … come in. Have a seat … are you hungry?" When Crane spoke, Harvey was finally reminded of where he was, and remembered that he was not pleased.

"Just curious," he said as he let go of Sidney and turned to Jonathan, "what do you _normally_ do when you find people who have been held hostage for a few days? Because I'm pretty sure _not_ informing the police is the wrong way to go."

"I figured the last place she wanted to be after something like that was in the police station, reliving the experience," Crane answered. "Just trying to be considerate, you know?"

"That's _not_ a choice that you get to make, Crane," Harvey reminded him.

"I think you'll find that she was much happier with my choice than the one you would have made," Jonathan informed him. "Unlike you, I am not a selfish person and didn't want to put her through the added stress. She was tired and hungry. She wanted to clean herself up and sleep. But, if you're really that discontent, I'm sorry I just didn't leave her there, because it _was_ me who got her out."

"What took you so long?" Harvey demanded.

"Uh …" Jonathan began, rather surprised, "I'm not sure if you hadn't noticed, but the Joker is not exactly easy to put a finger on. You _do_ realize that I risked my own life here? Obviously the Joker is not going to be very pleased that I gave him up."

"Honestly, Harvey," Sidney agreed, "you should be a little more grateful. Dr. Crane has been awesome."

"It would have been _more_ awesome if he had _told_ someone that he had you," Harvey stated, thinking about what he had just done for nothing. He had just killed a man, thinking it was something that he needed to do in order to save her life, and she had been safe the whole time. There was sick feeling creeping into his stomach. "And I thought _you_ might have been a little more considerate," he said as he looked at Sidney. "You had to have known that I was going to be worried sick-"

"Uhm, Harvey … newsflash. This isn't _about_ you. _You're_ not the one who got kidnapped and held hostage. And if you had actually killed Maroni instead of being a ridiculous coward, you would have had me sooner," Sidney reminded him. Harvey flinched at her words, and then looked at Crane. He wasn't about to admit to killing someone in front of him.

"Well …" Harvey trailed off, his voice returning to its usual volume. "If that's how you feel about it …" he turned around and started to leave.

"Harvey, wait--" Sidney blurted. But he didn't stop, he just slammed the door behind him and continued on his way from the building, completely livid. The night had been hard enough for him already. Taking this into consideration, it was quite possibly the worst night of his life, and that was saying something. Harvey was by no means a dramatic person.

As Harvey stormed down the hallway, Sidney stood in the middle of Jonathan's apartment, her hands crossed in front of her chest. She stared at the floor, not exactly sure what she was supposed to do.

"He's such an asshole sometimes," Sidney stated. "Like … really? I've just been through a lot. You'd think he could be a little less of a jerk."

"To be fair to Harvey," said Jonathan as he led Sidney to the couch and sat her down, "he has been through a lot in the past few days, too. He was worried about you."

"Couldn't he just have been happy to see me?" Sidney asked. "No. He had to be mad at _you._ I'm sorry but I wasn't gonna sit there and let him freak out on the person who saved me."

"The thing about Harvey Dent," Crane began, "is that he is a normal person. That is how any normal man would have reacted. He's been scared out of his mind and you didn't even let him know that you were out of danger."

"Oh, so you're on his side?" Sidney asked.

"That's not it at all," Jonathan assured her, "it's just that I can understand why he feels the way he does. It would be kind of bad if I couldn't. I _do,_ after all, specialize in the mind. Of course, I am more familiar with the minds of criminals, but they are not as hard to understand as normal, well-adjusted people."

"You think we're well-adjusted?" Sidney asked.

"Sure," Crane answered. "You have morals and values and a sense of what is wrong and what is right. I mean, I know you're not trying to show it right now, but you're at least a little upset that Harvey is upset. Your own anger has overshadowed that, but it's there somewhere. So, that means that you feel for people. Are you wishing that you had let Harvey know that you were all right?"

"Well, yes, but that is not the point. He could have just been happy to see me."

"He was happy to see you," Crane reminded her.

"You know what … you are too nice," Sidney informed him, to which Scarecrow responded with a real laugh. Sidney had never heard him laugh before. It was a rather nice sound.

"I don't think anyone has ever called me nice before," Jonathan stated, still laughing slightly.

"Well, are you ever actually nice to people?" Sidney asked. "I mean, you're nice to me, but I know that doesn't mean that's how you always are. Are you?"

"Well, I'm very rarely _mean_," Jonathan answered.

"Nevermind," Sidney said, "I think you're nice. But I might be a little biased. You kinda saved me, you know?"

"Yeah, well, it wasn't for completely selfless reasons," Jonathan assured her. "So don't put me on too high a pedestal, I don't want you to be disappointed."

-----------------------------

Bruce was practically shaking with nerves. He wanted nothing more than to go to the hospital, but he couldn't just show up there. There was no reason for him to know that she was there. Suspicion might have been aroused if he just knew that she was there. He was sitting in front of his television, waiting for the news. It had been a ridiculously long night, but now that it was almost time for the day to get started, he was hoping the story would be there.

"Here you are, sir," said Alfred as he put a tray down in front of him. He completely bypassed all the food and reached for the newspaper. All he needed was the headline "MISSING GIRL FOUND IN BASEMENT OF MISSING MOB BOSS" to get him out of his seat and going towards the door. He already had the keys to the Lamborghini in his hand. He figured that he was going to need another seat.

"Drive safely, sir," Alfred called after Bruce as he got into the elevator. Bruce snorted as the elevator started going down. Driving safely was not exactly a priority at the moment. He just wanted to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Being that he hadn't bothered to read the story, he knew nothing of Camryn's condition, or if she was even alive. Though, he reflected, if she was dead that would have been noted in the headline.

He parked the Murcielago in the parking garage, not caring if it wasn't there when he got back.

When he came through the automatic doors, he made a beeline for the receptionist's desk.

"I'm sorry, sir, visiting hours have not started yet," she told him, knowing what he wanted. But when he got a little closer, the woman realized who he was. "Or …"

"Camryn Griffin," he said shortly to the receptionist.

"Right," she said as she looked down at her computer and put in her name. "She's in ICU, room 7." There was a sharp intake of breath as Bruce headed towards the elevator. As he was waiting for it to come, he read the directory and discovered that the ICU was on the fourth floor.

He followed the signs to the ICU and went through the double doors looking like a man with a purpose. The procedure had been similar to that of the one at the front desk. At first, the receptionists wanted nothing to do with him, but upon realizing who he was, backed down.

"She's not awake, though," the nurse told him as he breezed past her. He didn't respond. He just went to room seven and looked through the clear sliding door for a moment. She definitely looked cleaner than she had the night before. The blood had been removed from her face and hair, but she still was not looking too great. Her lip was split, but there were otherwise no other bruises on her face, at least. Maroni must have avoided doing too much damage to that particular area.

From there, he couldn't see if there was anything else, and couldn't remember from last night. Everything had been too quick, then, and he wasn't really focused on inspecting her for injuries.

He pushed the door opened and walked in quietly. Once inside, he sat down in one of the chairs and rested his elbow on one of the arms, placing his chin in his hand. He wanted very badly to wake her up, just to make sure that he could, but he resisted and stayed where he was. For two hours.

At the end of that two hours, there was finally some activity. Her eyes fluttered open, and when she saw Bruce she shut them again.

"Oh thank God …" she whispered.

"You're not dead," he told her.

"I figured," Camryn responded. "Where's Maroni?"

"No one knows," Bruce answered. "He's missing. But it doesn't matter; you don't have to worry about him." Camryn actually laughed.

"Doubt that," she murmured. "Can I see a mirror?"

"No," Bruce answered.

"That bad?" Camryn asked.

"Not really," Bruce said, "but you really don't have to worry about what you look like."

"Do you remember who you are talking to?" Camryn asked. "I know we haven't seen each other in a few days, but come on." She looked around at all the machines to which she was hooked up. "So … what's the status? Am I going to live?"

"I don't know," Bruce answered, "I haven't talked to anyone. I'm technically not supposed to be here, but it looks to me like you're going to be fine. At least physically." He scooted his chair closer to the bed and took her by the hand. She flinched as he touched her, but did not draw her hand away. "Are you OK?"

"Probably not," Camryn answered. "But I suppose we'll see, huh?"

"What did he do to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Camryn responded as she looked away. "I have a question, though."

"What?"

"Was it Batman who found me? I could have sworn that it was him driving next to me …"

"I don't know," Bruce responded, "I didn't read the story, I just saw the headline, scanned to see where they took you, and I rushed here."

"I think it was Batman," she said as she changed her position on her pillows to find a softer spot.

"Well, if it was, I suppose that I would be forever in his debt," Bruce said slowly.

"What for?" Camryn asked.

"What do you mean what for?" Bruce asked, slightly annoyed that he was trying to be sincere and she was being just as obstinate as ever. "Because I was scared and significantly upset about your sudden disappearance? Is that a good enough answer for you? Is that what you wanted?"

"If you're going to be like that, Bruce, I'm going to press my little button and tell the nurses to kick you out," Camryn warned.

"You think I couldn't overpower you?" Bruce asked. "You wouldn't even be able to make a move quickly enough."

"You _would_ force yourself on me," Camryn said sardonically.

"Do you want me to leave?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know what I want from you," Camryn responded. "I guess I just want you to stop jerking me around and pretending you care about me."

"You think I'm pretending?" Bruce asked. "If I didn't care about you I wouldn't be here."

"If you had somewhere better to be you wouldn't be here," Camryn added. "But, it's convenient for you now." Bruce put his other hand on hers, so that she was holding one of her hands in both of his.

"Look at me," he urged calmly. Camryn turned her head towards him with a gaze so piercing that _he_ almost looked away, but he managed to keep eye contact. "There is _nothing_ convenient about this." And then suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, she dissolved into tears and sobs. She clutched onto Bruce and buried her face in his shoulder as he closed his arms around her and rocked her back and forth, cradling her shaking body as if she were a child, doing his best to try and calm her. But it was no use, she could scarcely breathe between body convulsions.

Bruce had the opportunity to see a little down her back through the small opening in her gown, and it was horrifying. There were only a few inches of skin that weren't a mottled purple color. He actually felt badly for touching her. But, she was still holding on, so he figured that he would, too. It took a few minutes for her to gain control of herself.

"It was awful …" she whispered.

"I'm so sorry," he murmured in response.

"Uhm … Mr. Wayne," came a timid voice from the door. Bruce looked up to see a nurse standing there. "This is the ICU. You can't handle the patients like that."

"Oh …" Bruce trailed off as he slowly let go of Camryn, but it did no good, as she was still clutching tightly onto him, as if her life depended on it. Bruce looked apologetically at the nurse and shrugged before putting his arms back around her. The nurse, figuring there was nothing she could do about it, turned around and walked away. The poor girl obviously needed more help than the medical staff could give.


	17. Don't Call Me Cami

For some reason, the Joker just was not having fun. There he was, terrorizing some folks, trying to scare the living daylights out of them before he killed them, and he just could not get a rise out of it. In truth, he couldn't even remember what he was there for. All he could think about was how much he missed Sidney and how badly he wanted to hurt Scarecrow.

That had been a rather dirty trick he played, and the Joker was not the sort of person to take that kind of thing lightly.

"Oh … what's the use …" he trailed off as he slit the throat of the woman whose head he had just been holding in his hands. Obviously she was no use to him, now. But, the more upsetting thing was that _he_ was no use to himself, now. He needed to get past this, or he needed to fix this.

Joker did not 'get past' things, so obviously that meant that he was going to have to fix it.

But how? Sidney had seemed at all pleased after the skin-cutting incident. Joker was rather surprised at how unreasonable she had been. It was just a piece of skin. It would grow back, it was nothing fatal. Women could be so ridiculous sometimes.

"Kill the rest of them," Joker grunted as he walked out of the apartment which he and his friends had just raided. When he had gotten there, he had some sort of objective in mind, but now he knew that he wasn't going to be able to do anything else until he fulfilled another one entirely.

"Looks like they found your friend," Jonathan said to Sidney at the table the next morning. She was eating left over pizza and he had a mug of coffee in front of him.

"What?" Sidney demanded as she snatched the paper from him and started scanning. "Jesus … in a box?"

"That's what it says," Jonathan answered, "naked, too."

"That poor girl …" Sidney trailed off. "I have to go and see her."

"Do you think that is a good idea?" Jonathan asked.

"The way I see it, I'm not really safe anywhere," Sidney informed him. "So I might as well just go."

"I guess you have a point," Jonathan responded, "but can you do me a favor and bring someone with you? Bring Dent, at least."

"Why can't you go with me?" Sidney asked.

"I have work to do," he responded.

"Is it really that important?"

"Everything I do is important," Jonathan said to her, "at least to me. I can drop you off at the hospital, but I don't want you leaving there by yourself, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" Sidney responded as she gave him a stiff salute.

"This isn't funny," Jonathan told her, completely serious, "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Not to be a nitpicker or anything, but I don't think it's me that the Joker is angry with," Sidney reminded him. "It is _you_ who needs to watch your back."

"A valid point, I suppose," Crane agreed, "but just in case, I want you to be careful. Joker has to have a new hideout somewhere, and I doubt that he is going to tell me where it is." He stood up and went back into his bedroom. He returned with his briefcase in his hand. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Sidney answered as she quickly got up, "just let me go and get my bag …" As she said this, she went into her bedroom and quickly grabbed her purse. "Let's go."

"Please don't make me talk about it," Camryn begged Harvey as he stood at the foot of her bed, looking rather annoyed. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"You're going to have to talk about it," Harvey said to her, "especially if we find Maroni."

"I don't want to talk about it," Camryn repeated. Bruce, knowing how completely pointless this questioning was, was rather annoyed with Harvey, who knew Maroni was dead. After all, he had been the one to kill him, and now he was standing there, needlessly upsetting Camryn. At the moment, this was probably the worst thing for her. There would be a time when it was healthy to talk about the events of the past few days, but not now. Not when it was so fresh … so raw.

"We understand that you don't want to talk about it," Rachel assured her, her voice filled with understanding; even she could not be mean to Camryn right then. "But it might be necessary."

"If it is ever necessary, we will talk about it," Camryn told her, "but right now, as far as I know, Maroni is dead and I'm not going to have to testify." Bruce carefully watched Harvey's face to see what kind of response this would bring, but he kept his face perfectly still, betraying no emotion whatsoever.

"Whoa, looks like I'm late to the party," said Sidney as she walked into the room.

"I didn't even think that you could come," Camryn stated, pleasantly surprised and happy to have the distraction. Everyone else in the room looked surprised, too. Except for Harvey that is, who continued looking straight at Camryn.

"How did you-" Rachel began.

"It's a long story," Sidney responded, "but, here I am. Safe and almost completely whole. How are you?"

"I've been better," Camryn answered.

"If you'll excuse us, Sidney, we were having a conversation," Harvey interrupted.

"I think that the conversation is over," Bruce corrected him. "She doesn't want to talk about it, and it's probably not a very good idea to make her. Just let her be, she's had a rough couple of days and she doesn't need anyone else poking and prodding at her."

"Yes," Sidney agreed, "we've _all_ had a rough couple of days." She grabbed a chair and dragged it to the side of Camryn's bed before sitting down in it.

"I'm fully aware," Harvey assured her, "but the world doesn't stop just because a few people had a couple of bad days." Sidney shot her most hateful look at Harvey, who clenched his jaw in response, but didn't move or falter. "I have a job to do."

"Oh, fuck your job," Sidney spat. "Stop using it as an excuse to be a complete asshole all the time. You're an attorney, not a fucking robot. I know you've got feelings in there somewhere."

"If you two are going to fight," Bruce began, "I suggest that you take it outside the room."

"We're not going to fight," Sidney assured Bruce as she turned back to Camryn. "But really, how are you feeling?"

"I've definitely been better," Camryn repeated, "but I guess that I'm OK, now. I'm not going to be in ICU much longer, which is pretty awesome. This place is really depressing. Everyone is dying. Granted, I was supposedly dying last night when Batman brought me here … but I'm over that, now." Sidney actually laughed.

"_Batman_ brought you here?" She asked.

"Oh yes," Camryn answered. "At first I thought I was just dreaming it, but the EMTs said it really was Batman. He's so awesome. I kind of love him. Though I'm a little pissed that I got to ride in the Batmobile and I don't remember anything about it."

"Well, I'd say that you might get another chance, but I don't want to wish that on you," Sidney informed her. "Batman usually reserves his efforts for those who need them."

The mention of Batman made Harvey rather nervous. He wondered what the caped crusader had done with Maroni's body, and he hoped that he picked a good hiding spot for it. Bodies had a way of turning up where you didn't want them to turn up. Though Harvey had safely hidden the murder weapon and police weren't very likely to be raiding his apartment any time soon, that obviously did not mean that he was off the hook.

A nurse poked her head in.

"There are too many people in here," she stated. "ICU patients can only have three visitors at a time." Neither Sidney nor Bruce made any move to get up.

"I'll leave," Rachel volunteered reluctantly as she started to walk out of the room, "I'll be in the waiting area, Harvey." The nurse, having been satisfied, left the room.

"Glad to see that you two are on good terms," Bruce stated.

"What do you mean?" Sidney asked.

"We broke up," Harvey answered, "two days ago."

"Oh …" Sidney trailed off. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Harvey answered shortly, even though everyone else in the room knew otherwise, including Sidney. He quickly changed the subject. "Nothing at all?" He looked at Camryn.

"Not today, Harvey," Camryn responded. Harvey pulled a business card from his jacket and handed it to her, which made her chuckle slightly.

"Call me when you're ready," he urged, and then he walked out as well.

"What did you do to him?" Camryn asked Sidney once he was out of earshot.

"Me?!" Sidney asked as she gestured to herself. "I didn't do anything to him! How could I have possibly done anything to him!? I was being held hostage in a fucking mental institution by a crazy man."

"How did you get out, by the way?" Bruce asked. "I'm surprised that it wasn't all over the news."

"It was a … private escape, I guess," Sidney answered, "the reason Harvey is mad at me is because I didn't tell him I was safe _as_ _soon_ as I was safe … because I wanted to shower and eat and take a goddamn nap. Is that so horrible?" Sidney seemed to be worked up into such a state that Bruce just shook his head wordlessly. "That's what I thought. But Harvey is completely unreasonable."

"To be fair to him," Bruce began, "he was really scared." It took all of his strength to keep himself from backhanding Sidney across the face. Harvey Dent had just killed a man for her, and if she had kept him up to date with the situation, it wouldn't have had to happen.

"Do you think I wasn't scared?" Sidney asked, forgetting the fact that she hadn't actually been all that scared. "You people are all so selfish. You act like it's _you_ that have gone through something when really, you haven't at all."

"I don't think that's true," Bruce answered. "And it doesn't look like you really went through all that much, either. Perfectly unharmed, and don't try and show me that little scrape on your arm. Given the Joker's past antics, it's a little odd that he wouldn't physically torture one of his hostages. Tie them up, smack them around a little, you know? Did you get tied up?"

"No," Sidney answered. "But-"

"Did you get smacked around?" He continued.

"A little," She responded.

"Were you subject to any sort of mental abuse?" He continued.

"I was held hostage!"

"Answer the question," Bruce insisted.

"No, not really," Sidney answered, "but have you ever spent five minutes alone with the Joker? I mean, you know so much about him, do you have any idea how fucking creepy that guy is? He didn't actually touch me, no, but it's not exactly fun living with the fear that comes with knowing that you are at the total disposal of a complete lunatic. He would have killed me in a heartbeat for no reason. Do you think that was _fun_?"

"And Harvey had to live with that knowledge, too," Bruce reminded her. "If he had killed you, you would have been dead, and that would have been it for you. You wouldn't have to live with it. Harvey, though, is another story, and he cares about you. He would have been devastated if anything terrible had happened to you. I'm just trying to put things in perspective. You should be a little more considerate."

"Well, I think that you should hop off," Sidney told him, "because you're not going to go winning any awards for 'consideration', I'm pretty sure. Look what happened while you were off doing whatever with Rachel." She gestured towards Camryn, who had been listening intently to the conversation.

"How did you know-" Bruce began.

"Oh, Joker told me all about it," Sidney responded. "You went to see Rachel. I guess it was right after she had broken up with Harvey? She needed a friend, hm?"

"That's different," Bruce said to her.

"I don't see why," Sidney stated. "You did something you thought wouldn't be a big deal and it ended up having disastrous consequences. At least the consequences of my actions were not so dramatic." Bruce almost corrected her, but then he stopped himself. Instead, he clenched his jaw and glared at her.

"Right …" Camryn trailed off. "I think there is a little too much tension in here. Everyone needs to calm down. This is a happy occasion. I'm not dead and neither is Sidney." Bruce snapped out of it and managed a smile before standing up.

"I'm going to get something to eat," he stated. "I'll be back as soon as I can, but I'm not eating here. Would you like anything?"

"God, yes," Camryn answered. There was no way that she was eating hospital food, and she was still more or less starving. "It doesn't even matter what … as long as there are no beans involved."

"Sidney?" Bruce asked.

"I want Panera Bread," she answered. "A grilled cheese on three cheese bread with American cheese and tomato soup with white cheddar and extra croutons."

"I guess that means I'm going to Panera …" Bruce answered, smirking. "Does that change your answer, Cami?"

"Don't call me Cami," Camryn responded, but didn't add anything else. Bruce stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then left. He was reluctant to leave her there, but he assumed the hospital would be safe enough. And besides, he wasn't going to be able to stay by her side forever.


	18. Say Hello to my Russian Friends

"I don't know how he expects us to find her," Yuri Petrov said to his partner, Slava Glaskov as the two of them sat in the plain, grey sedan they had rented upon landing in Gotham. "She has been taken hostage, no one knows where she is."

"She'll turn up eventually," Slava stated, "and if she's alive, we'll deal with her. If she's not alive," he shrugged, "then I guess there is nothing we can do about that."

"But this is a complete waste of time," Yuri answered as he lit up a cigarette and cracked the window, checking his reflection in the side-view mirror as he did so. He ran a hand through his blonde hair, but it did nothing to help the fact that he looked like he hadn't slept in days. His bright blue eyes were rimmed with darker circles than usual.

"You just need to be more patient," Slava said as he looked at his young partner. He was about ten years older than his cousin Yuri, and far more experienced. He knew that the boss wouldn't have ordered them to do this if he thought it was pointless. This girl owed them money, lots of money, and she would pay up or she would die. "I just _hope_ that whoever has her doesn't get a chance to kill her before we do."

"Why was she taken hostage, anyway?" Yuri asked. "Does she owe someone else money, now?"

"No," Slava answered, "don't you read the newspapers? She was taken hostage because of her connections to the DA, Harvey Dent." He pointed to the building across the street. "That is Harvey Dent's apartment building. We're going to go and talk to him."

"What for?" Yuri asked. "If she is being held hostage, it is not like he knows where she is."

"It will be good to talk to him," Slava assured him. "It is good to talk to everyone. Make them scared. Let him know that we are watching, and that if he knows anything, he'd better give it up."

"If you say so," Yuri answered as he started picking the dirt from his fingernails with a small knife. "I'm tired and hungry, though. Can't we take a break?"

"If we take a break, we might miss him," Slava answered as he glanced at his watch. "He might be coming home from work for lunch."

"It seems like it would make a lot more sense to go and watch where he is working," Yuri informed his older partner. He looked very much like his cousin, despite the age difference. They both had the same hair and eyes, though Slava's were considerably wiser. However, the older man hadn't considered that, and Yuri knew this. A smug smile crept across his face.

"Wipe that grin off your face before I smack it off," Slava ordered as he started the car and pulled out of the parking space which they had occupied for the past few hours.

"Don't be angry that I had a good idea and you didn't," Yuri mocked. "It will be the first of many to come. Better get used to it." Slava grunted.

"Find out where he works," he ordered.

"How am I supposed to do that?" Yuri answered. "Wait … let me pull the phone book out of my ass. Idiot." He kept his eyes peeled as he looked out the window, and when he spotted what he was looking for, he ordered Slava to stop immediately. Once his friend pulled over, he got out and walked up to the phone booth. Of course, inside it, there was a phone book. He opened it up and started looking through it.

Once he found the address he was looking for, he whipped a pen from his pocket and wrote it down on his forearm to make sure that he had it right. A small mistake like a wrong address would be remembered. After double checking and triple checking, he closed the phone book and walked back out to the car.

"Honestly, I don't know what your fat ass would do without me."

"It'd be a lot easier, let me tell you …" Slave groaned as he once again pulled the car out of a parking space and Yuri read him the address. They drove in silence until they got there, which was when they sat in silence, waiting for Harvey Dent.

-----------------------------

It was finally quitting time, and Harvey Dent had never been happier to leave his office. He was completely exhausted. The only thing he wanted to do was go home and sleep. So, imagine his discontent when, as he was walking home, he was approached by two strange men with thick Russian accents.

_Knew I should have taken a car_ he thought to himself.

"Harvey Dent?" The shorter, younger one asked.

"Who wants to know?" Harvey responded warily as he continued walking.

"Our employer sent us here to talk to you," Yuri continued. "We are looking for a woman named Sidney Reynolds. Perhaps you know her?"

"You can tell The Joker that he should no longer expect anything from me but a bullet in the middle of his forehead next time I see him," Harvey answered.

"We don't know this Joker you are talking about," Slava stated, "we have a different boss. One who is, I can assure you, much worse than the Joker." Harvey chuckled. These two obviously weren't from Gotham if they didn't know the Joker and thought there was someone worse than him out there.

"All right," he said, a small smile now on his face, "not saying that I can help you or anything, but why are you looking for Sidney?"

"You mean she has been living with you and she hasn't told you why she left Los Angeles?" Slava asked. "You didn't think to ask?"

"I know why she left," Harvey said, smile disappearing, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "She was having problems with her boyfriend."

"Oh, believe me," Yuri began, "she was having problems with more people than that. I didn't even know that she had a boyfriend."

"Allow us to enlighten you," Slava said as he slung an arm over Harvey's shoulder. Harvey shrugged his shoulders and took a few steps away from Slava.

"Keep your hands off me," he barked. "You can talk to me without touching me. So go ahead and speak." Yuri chuckled at Slava's disconcertion. The big man was not used to being treated in such a way.

"Sidney Reynolds," Yuri began, "owes the wrong people quite a bit of money. Our boss, whose name you don't really need to know, gave her a loan in the sum of ten thousand dollars, one that she has yet to pay back."

"What did she need ten thousand dollars for?" Harvey asked.

"We don't ask, they don't tell," Slava answered. "Normally, such a sum would not be lent out to a person like her, but our boss's son had a bit of soft spot for her, so he gave her the money, expecting her to pay it back with interest."

"And she didn't," Yuri finished up. "When she felt … threatened, she picked up and moved here. So, you're going to take us to her."

"I'm afraid that you've got the wrong guy," Harvey told them, "she's not living with me anymore. In fact, she probably hates me. So, find someone else to follow."

"If it's just the same, we'll follow you," Slava told him.

"Fine, be my guest," Harvey conceded, "but you're going to be disappointed."

-------------------------------

Following the customs of most hospitals, there were two times throughout the day when visiting hours were closed for an hour to give the patients of the ICU time to rest and recuperate. For the hour around lunch, Bruce had dutifully left, bringing Sidney with him. He dropped her off at Crane's apartment. For the whole drive he had kept his mouth closed, because he was afraid that if he opened it the two of them would fight.

After that, he had gone back to the hospital and sat with Camryn. She had been sleeping for the majority of the time since then, but he hadn't minded. She finally woke up again at five o'clock, which was when they kicked the visitors out until six.

To say it simply, Bruce was not leaving.

"Nothing is going to happen to me," Camryn assured him. "there's going to try and feed me more of this so-called food, and then I'll probably go back to sleep."

"Exactly, and when I get back, you will be sleeping," Bruce agreed. "I like you and all, but watching you sleep is not that fun." He gestured towards the pile of folders and files sitting beside his chair. "And I've finished all my homework. They'll let me stay. Anything is possible when the right amount of money is involved.

"Not to mention, the majority of the prison wardens are female," Camryn added.

"I'm not above using anything to my advantage," Bruce assured her, "whether it's my money, devastatingly good looks, or impossible charm."

"Calm down there, buddy," Camryn laughed.

"I always get what I want."

"Because you get special treatment."

"From everyone but you," he agreed. "And Rachel."

"Well, I don't know about Rachel," Camryn began, "but that's not going to change any time soon."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Cami," Bruce assured her with a smile. As he reached for her hand, she pulled it away.

"I told you not to call me that," she reminded him.

"Why?" Bruce asked. "Is it a nickname reserved for friends or something? You don't-"

"That's not it," Camryn stopped me. "If it were, you could call me that all you wanted. But no one is going to call me that anymore." It had been the name Maroni used for her. That went unsaid, but Bruce picked up on it. The tone of her voice said it all, and he realized that, though she was going to be physically all right, there was a lot more to recover than just her body.

Luckily for her, Bruce Wayne knew a thing or two about fear.

--------------------------

Sighing, Sidney knocked on Harvey's door. She was running out of things to wear as all of her clothing was in Harvey's apartment. She had been knocking for about five minutes, and figured that he was either not there or he didn't want to talk to her. As she was turning around to leave, though, the elevator doors opened and out came Harvey, but he was not alone, and his companions were familiar to her.

"Oh shit," Sidney murmured as she looked to both sides of her. But, there was no escape route. It didn't matter, because they had seen her, and so had Harvey, who acted rather quickly. He grabbed them both by the backs of their shirts and catapulted himself forward so that he was in front of them, and then he sprinted towards the door, getting his keys out as he went. He wasn't much faster than them, but he had a head start.

By the time he had gotten to the door, his key was out. He slid it into the lock and opened the door. Sidney stepped in and so did he, but once he started to close the door, one of his Russian friends wedged himself between the door and the jamb.

"You brought them _here?_" Sidney demanded.

"They _followed_ me here," Harvey grunted his correction as he tried to force the door closed. "I didn't think you would be here, so I didn't stop them, as they already knew my address, anyway." He hooked his hand around the door and started swinging away. He made a connection with Yuri's face, and he stumbled backwards. Harvey slammed the door and slid the security chain in place once he locked it. Then he turned to look at Sidney. "You've got some explaining to do."

"All right, Ricky …" Sidney trailed off as she headed towards the guest bedroom.

"There are two Russian mobsters outside of my apartment," Harvey explained as he followed her, "they are looking for you because you owe them _ten thousand dollars_ plus interest. What on Earth did you need ten thousand dollars for, Sidney?"

"I dunno, every day living expenses?" Sidney answered. "Living in LA is not cheap, in case you didn't know. And there were a few other things I wanted … I didn't think they would actually make me pay them back. I mean, I was sleeping with the guy's son, I thought that would have counted for something."

"You're very pretty," Harvey assured her, "but not ten thousand dollars worth of pretty."

"Thanks, Harvey," Sidney responded.

"I don't know why you're packing up," Harvey told her, "if you think that those two are going to let you leave, you have another thing coming. You might as well just stay here."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Sidney asked.

"Uhm … yes?" Harvey answered. "Of course I would like that. That _was_ the original arrangement, remember? And it's not like I kicked you out or anything."

"Well, Jonathan's not mad at me for stupid reasons," Sidney reminded him.

"I'm not really angry at you," Harvey assured her. "Last night I was upset …" he stepped into the room and sat down on the bed. He was confident that no one was going to get in, and if his friends in the hallway made too much noise, his neighbors would call the police, so he was able to relax a little bit. "I _killed_ a man for you." Sidney stopped what she was doing, stood up straight, and looked at Harvey for a moment as she pursed her lips, unsure of what to say. "And I didn't _have_ to do it, because the Joker didn't even have you … and I became a murderer because I thought I had a reason to-"

"I'm not worth that, Harvey," Sidney said to him.

"Well, I thought you were," Harvey responded, then realizing what he had said, he quickly amended it, "I still think you are, but I have become something that I hate, and my efforts were not even necessary. Nor were they appreciated. Sorry I was a little upset about something like that. How foolish of me …" his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"I didn't _ask_ you to kill anyone for me," Sidney said to him, "in fact, I told that Joker that you probably wouldn't do it."

"Yes, well, you obviously know very little," Harvey stated as he stood up and started walking out of the room. "Do what you want, I'm not going to keep you from doing anything."

"Well, I'm not going to be leaving any time soon," Sidney said to his back, "if that makes you feel any better."

"It doesn't," Harvey responded without looking back at her. Sidney sighed in frustration as she walked towards the front door to look through the peephole. Yuri was still standing there, but Slava was nowhere to be seen. She went back into her room and picked up her cell phone, dialing Jonathan's number as she paced back and forth. He finally picked up after the fourth ring.

"Hello?" He said smoothly.

"I have a bit of a problem," Sidney told him, skipping over the customary greeting.

"What's that?" Jonathan asked.

"Well …" Sidney trailed off, "there are two men outside of Harvey's apartment, and they're waiting for me to come out because I owe them money. So, I'm afraid to leave because they're going to grab me and take me back to LA … or possibly just kill me, I don't know."

"So, stay in the apartment," Jonathan suggested. "It's probably one of the safer places you can be, especially with two men out there guarding the door."

"But I don't want to stay with Harvey," she whined, "he's being a big baby."

"All right, I'll come and get you later," Jonathan stated.

"Later? Why later? What are you doing now?"

"Nothing," Jonathan answered, "I would just prefer for you to stay there. As I said, it's a little safer than my apartment. Higher up, less windows, two men guarding the door."

"I bet the men would follow me back to your apartment," Sidney informed him.

"Just hang tight, all right?" Jonathan responded. "Spending a few hours with Harvey is not going to kill you."

"That's what _you_ think …" Sidney trailed off right before she hung up. She then walked across the hallway towards Harvey's room. She didn't do awkward, and if she was going to be there for a while, she was going to make sure that she didn't have to. The door was closed, so she knocked.

"Come in," Harvey told her. When she walked in, he had just taken off his shirt and was in the process of throwing it in his hamper. "Can I help you?"

"OK, I will concede that I should have let you know that I was no longer in the Joker's custody," Sidney said to him. "I knew that you were worried, really. Thanks for killing Maroni. If not for me, he definitely deserves to be dead for what he did to Cam."

"I won't argue with you there," Harvey agreed as he sat on his bed and started removing his shoes. "But that doesn't make me feel any better about it. It's not my job to kill people."

"Well, that's one less person you have to worry about," Sidney reasoned.

"Someone will take his place eventually," Harvey assured her. "Whether or not he will be as bad remains to be seen, but the position won't be open for long."

---------------------------------

Indeed he was right. The Maroni family was already stirring up. Being that none of Maroni's children were old enough to take over the family, the position could not be passed down. However, there was, of course, the underboss. Giuseppe Maroni was Salvatore Maroni's cousin, and it was now his duty to pick up where Sal had left off.

He was a few years younger than his cousin, but looked much older. His dark hair had gone almost completely gray, and he had a few more inches around the waist than Sal, but otherwise, the family resemblance was there.

Of course, the first thing he had to do was figure out what had happened to his cousin. It was rather odd that he disappeared from his own home. One would think that it was a little harder to surprise Sal Maroni that way. But as it was, he was gone, and there was no evidence as to how he got that way. There wasn't even a body for the family to bury.

And that was crossing the line. You could kill anyone you wanted, but you didn't disrespect the dead like that, and you didn't keep the family from having a proper funeral.

As far as Giuseppe, or Gus as his family called him, was concerned, there was only one person responsible for the death of his cousin, and she was in Gotham General at the moment. She had been the reason for his murder, and he was going to make sure there was justice.

-------------------------------------

"Do you need anything else, ma'am?" Alfred asked Camryn after he had her settled on the couch with a blanket, some pillows, her blackberry, and the peanut butter sandwich with gummy bears on the side that she had asked him for. She was now out of the hospital. When they decided that it was fine to move her from ICU, Bruce suggested that he just take her home, as the only thing she really needed was some time to recuperate. Physically, she was sound, but the fortress of her mind was in ruins.

"You know that place inside you?" Camryn had asked the night before, when Bruce asked her how she _really_ was. "That place where you don't let anyone else go? It's just for you; it's like your castle. It's strong and almost impenetrable."

"I know what you mean," Bruce had said in response.

"Yeah, well, he knocked it down," Camryn continued, "but he didn't leave it at that. He knocked it down, and then he burned the remains, and then he danced on them. And when someone takes that away from you … it's like there's a big hole inside you, and it's sucking everything else up trying to fill itself, to hide that little part of you that no one else gets to see. But it can't-"

"Cam …" Bruce had tried to stop her. But it was like she wasn't even there anymore, she had a far off look in her eyes, like she was miles away.

"And there's nothing to hide it … and that little part of you, it's lying naked, shivering with the shock of being left so defenseless, so …"

"I get it, Cam," Bruce said softly as he put his hand over hers. The contact brought her back to reality. "I understand. You don't have to say anymore." He glanced at the clock. The hands read that it was nine o'clock. Visiting hours had been over for an hour, and the nurses were starting to look antsy, and Batman had a few things to do that night. Reluctantly, he stood up. "It's time for me to leave. They're delivering you to my penthouse tomorrow morning, all right? I'm not going to be there because I'm going on a business trip, but I should be back in a few days."

"Uh-huh …" Camryn nodded sleepily. Bruce kissed her forehead briefly before starting out of the room "Bruce?" She said before he was completely gone.

"Yeah?" He had responded, poking his head back through the door.

"I've got a little lean-to up, though," she told him, her eyes still closed, "and a roof to keep out the rain." And so Bruce had gone. In the morning, like he had told her, she was transported to his penthouse and planted on the couch for Alfred to take care of her, as Mr. Wayne had to go to China on urgent business, and would be back sometime within the next two days. In the meantime, she was to have whatever she wanted, no matter what it was.

It was definitely a little upsetting, but there what could she do? She was just going to have to be content to sit in his humongous penthouse, with his butler and personal staff at her service.

Probably she could manage, but it would be tough.

--------------------------------------------

"You want me to kidnap her _again_?" The Joker asked of the new head of the Maroni family, who wanted Camryn Griffin delivered to him posthaste. He raised his eyebrows sardonically, regarding Giuseppe Maroni as if he would a small child who wasn't talking sense. "What went wrong the first time?"

"Last time, Sal decided to play a few games before he killed her, and he never got a chance to finish the job," Giuseppe answered, trying to be as calm as possible. But, if he was speaking truthfully, the Joker scared the bejeezus out of him. "And it's her fault he's dead. We just need a little justice is all."

"Uh …" Joker trailed off, "it's not _her_ fault that he's dead. I heard that he kept her in a box. I don't know how she could kill him from the box."

"But whoever killed him did it to get to her," Giuseppe explained, "and once we have her, we'll make her tell us who did it, and then-"

"I know for a fact that is not why he died," Joker stated, chuckling slightly. After all, he knew _exactly_ why Salvatore Maroni was dead. And it had been about two days since he last saw her. Joker made a mental note to confirm her location after leaving this place.

"You can believe what you want, but we want this girl back," he stated.

"Yeah, well, she bores me," Joker stated, "she didn't even put up a fight last time. If you can figure out where she is, I'm sure that you won't have a hard time getting her, either. I'm not having anything to do with it, though." The Joker did not want to admit this to anyone, not even himself, but the _real_ reason he wasn't going to go anywhere near that girl is he didn't need to give Sidney any more reasons to be angry with him.

"Are you any good at finding people?" Maroni asked.

"No, not really," Joker answered as he started walking away. He had switched vehicles and was now riding around in an old burgundy sedan. He liked to spice things up once in a while. "And don't bother me again with something silly like this. I don't have time for these stupid jobs anymore. I have real work to do."

"You'll regret this," Maroni assured him.

"No I won't," Joker answered as he folded himself into the back seat of the car and slammed the door. The goon at the wheel pulled away, leaving Giuseppe Maroni standing there with a problem he had no idea how to fix. The family would be calling for vengeance, and if he couldn't deliver, some serious questions would be asked of his ability to be at the head.

In his mind, he started going over places where she could be. If she was smart, she knew that there was a still a reason to hide; there would probably be a reason for her to hide for as long as she was alive. He doubted that she would go back to Wayne's apartment, and if she did, it definitely would not be easy to get into this time.

She couldn't go back to her parents' house. He had checked, and her parents didn't have a house. They were squatters in an abandoned warehouse in the narrows. Obviously she had severed all ties with that part of her life, seeing as she had gotten used to spending her nights in penthouses.

There were countless hotels in Gotham. Maroni had at least one friend in a lot of them, who would let him know if they saw anything – or anyone – that might interest him. So now, it seemed like it was a waiting game. He just had to be patient and see if she showed up. Of course, he would give her time, but he wasn't going to wait forever, and soon he would have to go looking for her himself. Or rather, he was going to have to send someone out to look for her.

It was easy to forget that he was the head of the family now, and that he had people to do things for him. A lot of good they would do, though, if they didn't know where to start looking.


	19. Small Victories

"Where are you going?" Sidney asked of Harvey as she saw that he was leaving for the morning.  
"Uhm, to work?" Harvey answered. "It's where most adults go in the morning."  
"But-"  
"You'll be fine," Harvey assured her.  
"But what about the Russians?" Sidney asked.  
"Well, they're not here for me," Harvey stated. "Well, they were, but that was only because they thought I could help them get to you. But now that they've found you, I'm pretty sure that they're not gonna be too interested in me anymore."  
"So you're just going to leave me here? What if they break in and-"  
"Keep your phone on you. If they break in, call the police," Harvey suggested.  
"You so don't care if they kill me or not," Sidney told him.  
"Of course I care," Harvey assured her as he pulled her into him and kissed her on the forehead. "It's just that my whole life can't stop because there are some Russian mobsters hanging out around my apartment. This is Gotham City. Stuff like this happens all the time."  
"But I don't want to have to stay inside all day!" Sidney exclaimed.  
"Perhaps you should have thought about that when you borrowed ten thousand dollars from the mob and didn't pay it back," Harvey said, shrugging as he put his hand on the doorknob. "I'll call you to check in every once in a while, all right?"  
"Don't expect me to answer," Sidney responded as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and went and sat down on the couch.  
"OK, well, you can call me whenever you need to," Harvey assured her as he closed the door behind him. "Hey, Yuri …" Sidney heard him greet once the door had closed. So, Yuri was out there. This was getting ridiculous. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Jonathan's number.  
"So, I guess you're still alive?" He greeted her.  
"I am alive, but I am also a prisoner," Sidney informed him. "I'm not allowed to leave because they are going to take me and kill me if I do."  
"I would like to know how you manage to get yourself into these situations," said Jonathan. "It seems like you don't have any down time."  
"I really don't," Sidney assured him, "this shit just keeps happening to me, and you know what? I'm a little done with it. Can you come and get me, now?" Jonathan sighed.  
"Fine," he told her, "I'll be there in about fifteen minutes, all right? Will you be ready by then?"  
"Yes," she told him, and didn't even bother saying good bye. She just hung up her phone and headed into her bedroom to pack up. She figured that if she could keep moving around, she would throw her stalkers off, and if she couldn't do that, she could at least annoy them.

-----------------------------

Patience is virtue that the Joker did not possess. Waiting made him anxious, but he didn't really see what else he could do. He knew that she was in Dent's apartment because she hadn't been in Scarecrow's when he checked. Harvey had left earlier, though, so that meant that she was supposedly alone in his apartment. But why wasn't she coming out? He knew for a fact that he was not the reason she was staying in. She was not afraid of him in that way.  
As he was musing to himself, he saw Jonathan Crane enter the building. His eyes immediately narrowed and a guttural sound escaped his throat. It would be impossible to forgive him for what he did, and even harder to allow him to just do whatever he wanted with Sidney. As far as he was concerned, Scarecrow deserved to die. And he would, eventually, once he was sure that killing him would not affect the way Sidney saw him.  
It was rather sickening to him, the way he was constantly thinking of how Sidney would react to any of his actions. It seemed as if she had some sort of attachment to Scarecrow, and for that reason, he couldn't kill him, yet. But that wouldn't last forever, he was sure.

"Hello, sir," Jonathan greeted Yuri as he approached Harvey's door. "I just wanted to make sure you were aware that I alerted the authorities. You've been here for a rather long time, and you don't live here."  
"Who are you?" Yuri asked.  
"Dr. Jonathan Crane," he answered as he held out his hand. Yuri did not shake it, though, he just looked at it as if it were the hand of an alien. "I work in Arkham Asylum. I'm here to pick up Sidney, and I just wanted to let you know that if you touch her, I'll make sure you end up in my solitary confinement."  
"Is that a threat?" Yuri asked as he puffed himself up and stepped closer to Jonathan.  
"I don't make threats," Jonathan assured him. "Now, you could leave before the police get here, or you can stay here and be arrested. And I'm sure that a big, strong mobster like yourself might have a bit of a criminal record. Sure you want one with the GCPD as well?"  
Yuri stared at Jonathan for a moment, his body practically shaking with the desire to punch those glasses into his eyes. But, being arrested would definitely not be productive. He gave Jonathan one final glare before turning around and stomping towards the elevator.  
Once she heard the elevator door close, Sidney opened the door.  
"That was pretty impressive!" Sidney exclaimed. "Did you really call the police?"  
"Yes, I did," Jonathan answered, "they said they would stop by to make sure he wasn't bothering you anymore. At least not around here. While you're out and about, though, is another matter entirely. I doubt that they're going to leave you alone while you are outside of the apartment."  
"That's fine," Sidney assured him, "in public, I can handle them." Jonathan waited in the hallway while Sidney went into her bedroom and grabbed the bag she had hastily packed.  
"Plan on staying with me for a while?" Jonathan asked as he eyed the bag.  
"Yep," Sidney answered plainly as the two of them got in the elevator.  
"So … why exactly is the Russian Mob after you?" He asked her.  
"Well," Sidney answered, "I needed money. So, they loaned me ten thousand dollars and I have paid it back yet."  
"Ten thousand dollars?" Jonathan asked. "What on Earth would you need that much money for?"  
"That is exactly what Harvey asked," Sidney stated, "and I have come to the conclusion that it is none of your business."  
"You've made it my business, though," Jonathan reminded her, "I'm involved in this now." The two of them stepped out of the elevator and walked through the lobby. As they exited, they were unaware of this, the Joker was watching them from his car. Another low growl escaped his throat as he put his car in drive. He had dismissed the goons, and was now flying solo so as to be less noticeable. Of course, he was not wearing his makeup, but just in case.  
As he followed them – they were walking the short distance back to Crane's apartment – he picked up on the fact that there was someone else following them as well. There was a man, whom Joker had seen exiting the building minutes before Sidney had come out with Scarecrow, and another, older gentleman in a sedan much like his, and they were pretty intent on the pair that he was watching himself.  
"Well, well …" he said to himself, "what have we here?" Obviously he was not expecting an answer to this, but it wasn't weird for the Joker to be talking to himself. There were cars beeping at him because he was going to slowly for their tastes, but he pretended that they were beeping at someone else, and went as slow as he liked. The sedan with the Russians was going about the same speed, anyway.  
When they stopped at Crane's apartment building, Joker waited to see what the two men in the sedan would be doing. After watching for a few minutes, he concluded that they were in it for the long haul. He doubted that they were following Crane. So, he put on the black baseball cap he reserved for going out in public during the day time, and walked over to the sedan. Then, he bent over and rapped on the driver's side window, as that was the side facing the curb.  
"What?" Said a thick Russian accent as the window went down. The man driving was not the man he had seen coming out of the building. That one was sitting in the passenger seat.  
"I was just wondering …" Joker trailed off, "what you were doing."  
"It is none of your business," Slava informed him as he started to close the window. Joker placed his hand in the open space to keep him from closing it. When he saw that Joker still wanted to talk to him, he took his finger off the button.  
"You see," Joker continued, "it is my business. Because if you are doing what I think you are doing, then we are going to have a bit of a problem."  
"And what do you think we are doing?" Slava inquired.  
"Why don't you just tell me what you're doing?" Joker countered. Slava looked at Yuri, who shrugged, and then he started to close the window. Joker kept his fingers right where they were, but this didn't stop Slava, and the window kept rolling upwards. The whole time, he was looking Joker straight in the eye, and he was rather disconcerted when he didn't even look like he was in pain as the glass closed on his fingers.  
"That hurts," Joker stated. Slava reopened the window and Joker left his fingers there. "Are you going to talk to me, now?"  
"What do you want?" Yuri said once more. Joker sighed.  
"Didn't I already tell you what I want?" He answered the question with one of his own. "I told you that I would like to know what you're doing here."  
"We're here to see a girl, she owes us money," Slava informed him, figuring it was better to just tell him and make him go away. "And she's inside that building over there." He pointed to Crane's apartment building.  
"What does this girl look like?" Joker asked.  
"Why?"  
"Just tell me," Joker responded, seeming rather frustrated by the whole conversation.  
"I dunno … about 5'5", dark red hair, pretty-"  
"Get out of the car," Joker ordered.  
"No," Slava answered.  
"Really?" Joker asked.  
"Really," Slava answered. "Get the hell out of here!" Joker narrowed his eyes, but thought better of making any rash actions in broad daylight without his makeup on. So, he turned his back and started walking away  
It was a little annoying that he was actually going to have to watch them, now. After all, he couldn't let someone take Sidney before he did whatever it was he was planning on doing with her.  
Not that he knew what that was. All he knew was that he couldn't really go on with her hating him like he was sure that she did. For some reason, it consumed all of his thoughts. He couldn't focus on anything besides how he might change the situation around. First, he would make her love him, and then he would be able to kill Scarecrow.  
He had a dilemma, though, because he had none of his makeup with him. And he didn't want to leave to go and get it just in case he missed anything. So, he just lowered the brim of his hat and settled in for a good watch. If anything happened, he would deal then.

---------------------------

"You've got quite a following, Miss Reynolds," Jonathan said to her as he glanced out of the window. "I can see your Russian friends from here. And, I'm not one hundred percent positive about this, but I think I can see the Joker out there. If it's him, he doesn't have any makeup on."  
"Everyone needs to get off of my ass," Sidney said as she came over to the window to try and see what Jonathan was seeing. She spotted the Russians, but she supposed that her eyes were not good enough to pick up on the Joker. Or she just didn't know what she was looking for. When Jonathan pointed out the car, she did see that, but the man inside of it was just a blur.  
"Nevermind them," Jonathan said as he closed the curtains. "It's probably a good idea to stay away from the windows, just in case. We don't know if they just want you dead or if they want to talk to you first."  
"I'm not too hell bent on finding out, either, trust me," she assured him. "So, are you just going to leave me here all day by myself or are you going to stay here and hang out with me?"  
"Well, I can't stay all day," Jonathan told her as he glanced at his watch. "But I can stay until one, and then I have to go. I could bring you somewhere if you like, so you don't have to sit here by yourself. What about your friend? The one the Joker kidnapped. Is she still in the hospital?"  
"No," Sidney answered, "I think she went back to Bruce's penthouse this morning."  
"She's probably bored, out of her mind sitting there all by herself all day. I could bring you there if you like. You just have to let her know so that she can tell the security."  
"I feel kind of bad mixing her up with this," Sidney said. "I mean, it's bad enough that I've got you and Harvey involved. I'm trying to keep it limited to people who aren't, like … defenseless." Jonathan chuckled as he removed his jacket and sat down on the couch.  
"That's very considerate of you," he told her.  
"Yep, I'm taking one for the team. If I have to confine myself, so be it, but you can't just leave me here all by myself for long periods of time. I'll go nuts."  
"You couldn't get Harvey to stay in his apartment with you?" Jonathan asked.  
"I'm pretty sure that he hates me, now," Sidney said to him as she sat down on the couch and settled in next to him. "He was really bent out of shape about the whole not letting him now that I was no longer the Joker's hostage thing. Think he is wishing that he had never killed Maroni."  
"He killed Salvatore Maroni?" Jonathan asked, and Sidney's eyes got really wide as she covered her mouth.  
"Shit! I wasn't supposed to tell you that!" She exclaimed. "Oh my god, please don't tell anyone!" She begged as she grabbed onto his arm. "Please!"  
"Calm down!" Jonathan responded. "Your secret is safe with me, I promise. I'm not going to tell anyone." Really, all Jonathan wanted to do was tell on Dent, but he figured that might distress Sidney, so he decided that he wouldn't.  
"Good," Sidney responded, sighing with relief. "I mean, I'm mad at him and everything and I hate his guts. But he did kill a guy for me, so I guess I could at least keep it a secret for him." She put her head in her hands, and her hair fell in a bright red curtain over her face. "I've made such a mess of things, huh?"  
"Well, I'm not going to lie," Jonathan began, "you really have gotten yourself in pretty good. You've gotten yourself into more shit in the past week than most people do in their entire lives. How are you feeling?" Being that he was a psychiatrist, Jonathan was well aware of the effects of stress and fear on the mind, and consequently the body. Of course, Sidney didn't seem very scared, but that didn't mean that she wasn't. It was entirely possible that she was just a very gifted actress.  
"This is as bad as it has ever been," Sidney assured him, "My life was by no means boring in LA … but this really takes the cake."  
"I'm not surprised," Jonathan assured her. "But really, are you OK?"  
"That is the first time someone has asked me that," Sidney told him. "Even Harvey didn't seem to care."  
"Well, I want to know if you are OK," Jonathan repeated.  
"I guess I'm fine," Sidney answered as she ran her fingers through her hair to get it away from her face as she looked back up at him. "Nothing I can't handle. I'm hoping that if I just wait patiently it will pass."  
"I could give you ten thousand dollars," Jonathan said to her.  
"You have that much money?" Sidney asked.  
"I do a lot of favors," Jonathan told her.  
"Thanks," Sidney said, "but no thanks. It would be like getting one credit card to pay off the debt on another. There is no point in that. They're not getting their money."  
"I'm glad we are not trying to enable criminals," Jonathan stated, "but if you're not going to give them the money, how do you intend to get rid of them? Mobsters aren't really the type to just give up. They'll kill you, Sidney."  
"I guess that I am just going to have to be extra careful," Sidney said, shrugging. "They'll get bored eventually, I think." Or rather, she hoped. And if they didn't, well … maybe she could find someone else who would kill for her before she got killed herself. "Do you think the Joker would forgive you enough so that if you asked him to he would kill them?"  
"No," Jonathan answered simply without hesitation, "I, myself, am in quite a bit of trouble. That's the only reason I don't mind lying low with you. I don't want to go out there while he's waiting for me."  
"You think that's why he's here?" Sidney asked. "Because he's waiting for you?"  
"I can't think of any other reason," Jonathan answered with a shrug. "He never goes after the same goal twice -- unless it's Batman, but that is a special case – so I doubt that he is looking for you. It has to be me he's waiting for."  
"Are you honestly scared of him when he's out in public like that?"  
"Do you honestly think that he is the kind of person to be deterred by a crowd?" Jonathan countered.  
"Point," Sidney agreed. "But I am really grateful that you did that." She was sure that she had thanked him before, but she wanted to make sure that he knew that she was grateful for it, that she appreciated the huge risk that he had taken himself.  
"He was chopping off parts of you," Jonathan reminded her as he lifted her arm and inspected her wound. It was scabbing nicely, but still looked rather nasty. "I like you with all your parts."

==============================

"Are you sure that I can't persuade you to eat anything else, ma'am?" Alfred asked of Camryn as she sat on the couch, furiously texting on her blackberry. She felt so disconnected from the world, not having been to work in days. And, of course, everyone was dying to know what had happened to her and how she was. The attention was nice, the reason for it was more than a little painful, but Camryn did her best to answer the questions of her friends and coworkers without recalling too much of the ordeal.  
"I'm not hungry, Alfred," Camryn assured him without looking up from her phone.  
"I don't think I need to remind you, ma'am," he began, "but it is almost one in the afternoon, and all you have eaten is a peanut butter sandwich and a bag of gummi bears."  
"If I could have some more gummi bears that would be awesome," Camryn told him.  
"I don't think that there are any more," Alfred stated.  
"Well, can't you … like … send out for some?" She asked as she finally looked up at him. "I mean, it's not like they're hard to find."  
"You can have more gummi bears after you have eaten some real food," Alfred told her, giving her a look as if she was a small child.  
"But I don't want real food!" Camryn whined. "I just want some more gummi bears." She gave him the most pathetic look she could manage. She knew that he was most likely not going to break, but she kept on anyway. As she was in the process of this, her blackberry started to ring.  
"Ah! It's Bruce!" She exclaimed as she hit the send button. "Hello!"  
"You sound … awake," he stated without saying hello. "I just wanted to make sure everything is all right."  
"Everything's good here," Camryn stated as she glanced at Alfred, "except for Alfred won't let me have candy." Alfred narrowed his eyes slightly at her. She was playing dirty, now.  
"Why not?" Bruce asked.  
"I don't know," Camryn answered, "it's not like I'm not allowed to eat it."  
"You're not giving him the whole story," Alfred said, a little louder than usual. Bruce, of course, heard him.  
"What is the whole story?" Bruce asked, knowing that Alfred was usually a very reasonable person, and a rather indulgent one, too. Camryn sighed.  
"I just want some gummi bears," she told him.  
"Can I talk to Alfred, please?" Bruce asked, completely ignoring that pathetic tone of her voice. Though it did take some strength; Bruce's first instinct was to just give her anything she wished for. But, he did trust Alfred's judgment, and when it was on a matter as silly as this, he figured it might be OK to not indulge her just this once.  
Camryn didn't want to hand over the phone, because she knew that he was most likely going to agree with his butler. However, she did was she was told. Alfred stared at her phone for a moment, not quite sure what to do with it, and then held it up to his ear.  
"Yes, Master Wayne?"  
"What is the problem here?" Bruce asked.  
"She hasn't eaten anything besides a peanut butter sandwich and a bag of gummi bears all day," Alfred explained, "I'm trying to prevent malnutrition."  
"Peanut butter is good for you," Bruce said. "Look, she's been through a lot, and it's just some gummi bears. Give them to her."  
"All right, Master Wayne," Alfred said. "How are things going in China?"  
"Well," Bruce answered, "Everything is going as planned. I just got here, though, and it's late, so there hasn't been much time to mess things up. Lucius is meeting with Lau tomorrow afternoon, and then tomorrow night I should have him in my custody. I'm trying to make this as quick as I can."  
"Don't hurry back on our account," Alfred said, "we don't want any silly mistakes because you were rushing through things."  
"Do hurry back on our account!" Camryn exclaimed, but didn't add to her sentiments. Even though she was pretty sure Bruce had told Alfred to give her the gummi bears, she doubted that he was going to do it. It was much easier for her to work Bruce than it was his elderly butler.  
"Take care of her, Alfred," said Bruce.  
"I will, sir. Good luck." Bruce hung up the phone, and Alfred handed Camryn's back to her.  
"What did he say?" Camryn asked.  
"He told me that you are to have your candy," Alfred answered on a sigh. "So, I suppose that I will have to give it to you." Camryn smiled smugly, but didn't say anything. She had a feeling that it was going to be the first of many victories over Alfred Pennyworth. Because, though she might not be able to work Alfred, Bruce was, and she planned on having Bruce in the palm of her hand pretty soon, even with Rachel Dawes out there.


End file.
